Mia

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech

SoP Prompt: Why do you want to undertake graduate work? Why do you qualify to pursue a graduate degree?

I gained a keen connection to the environment in Jackson, Mississippi, where I’ve spent most of my life. There, I understood how each person played an important role in maintaining the health of their local environment. My experiences later solidified this mindset after witnessing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi residents still live with the social and financial implications of this environmental disaster; many would argue that the quality of the water has still not been restored.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I began to understand the extent to which the Gulf Coast’s water quality had been compromised beyond the oil spill. In my classes we learned how poor agricultural practices led to the Gulf Coast’s “dead zone”. Learning this reminded me of the hesitancy I and others still have when swimming in the coastal waters. Due to my connection to the topic, I took an interest in water sustainability research at my school. This work would assist me in further defining my career goal of addressing environmental remediation. This is why I am interested in applying to the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program at Virginia Tech.

My journey exploring these research topics began with working as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar with Dr. Elizabeth Swanner in a biogeochemistry lab where we studied the role of iron cycling bacteria in an intermittent local stream. Over the course of two years, I assisted in creating a database of the microbial communities present within our creek of study through on-site field sampling and RNA extractions. This project informed me on the uniqueness of small waterbodies, such as streams, and the role that microbes play in aquatic ecosystems. I was most compelled to work on this project after reviewing literature about the growing interest in the usage of iron reducing bacteria to degrade herbicides. Learning the important role these microbes could play in targeting pollutants in the runoff connected me to my overall research and career interest in watershed sustainability.

Beginning my senior year, I became involved with another research opportunity within our Environmental Engineering program working with Dr. Chris Rehmann. This research centered on stormwater management and emerging water contamination. In the lab, I gained experience testing the efficiency of sediment removal from improved bioretention cells used in a local suburban city. In addition to this, I worked through analytical solutions of differential equations to model the fate and transport of PFAS degradation in streams. Though this research was different from my microbiome research, it connected to a similar theme of improving water quality and environmental restoration.

Moving forward, I am excited to pursue my Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in Virginia Tech’s Environmental and Water Resource Engineering program. This program would provide me with integral skills and knowledge to help me apply my research interests in my career as an environmental engineer. My interest in environmental remediation most aligns with Dr. Jingqiu Liao’s research which focuses on ecosystem health and sustainability. By working on a similar project involving aquatic microbial communities, I would be able to deepen my understanding of the role that unique microbiomes play within ecosystems. By approaching environmental restoration using microbiology and engineering, I am confident that working with Dr. Liao would assist me in further developing a biological background that I can use in my career. My research and academic experiences have provided me with the tools to be a successful doctoral student in the future, and I look forward to starting my career with a graduate degree from Virginia Tech.