Name: Jessica Watley; Institution: Michigan State University; Program: Office of Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program
November 12, 2024
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Jessica Watley was already nurturing her passion for environmental science when she took a field trip that changed her life. Watley and other Michigan State University students took a short bus ride from East Lansing, Michigan, to Lemont, Illinois, for an excursion focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.
Destination: Argonne National Laboratory, where Watley and the group toured several Argonne buildings and where she would be introduced to the opportunities offered at the lab through the Office of Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) Program.
The past summer convinced me that I love environmental research. I’m going to explore environmental research opportunities at other national labs, maybe those that specialize in marine biology.
After acceptance into Argonne’s SULI program, she was offered a choice among several projects for the 10-week internship. She chose, “What Effects Do Solar Farms Have On Monarch Butterflies?” Watley said she picked that topic because she supports renewable energy and hadn’t before considered the environmental impact of solar farms and wind turbines. The research involved examining existing literature and case studies, she said, with a focus on how solar infrastructure affects the availability of milkweed—the primary host plant for monarchs—which are an endangered species.
In addition to science, Watley said she was pleasantly surprised that she found a welcoming social environment. She had some trepidation about that.
Now in her sophomore year at Michigan State University—majoring in environmental sciences and management with a double minor in arts and humanities—Watley is already looking forward to another potential SULI internship.