Undergraduate earth science major Brooke Santos is one of six recipients of the 2021 Kathryn D. Sullivan Research Impact Award in Earth & Marine Sciences. For student achievement week, we asked her about her time at UC Santa Cruz, her research, and her advice for incoming students.
Please tell us about your experience at UC Santa Cruz.
My time at UCSC has been a great and unforgettable experience. Despite the many unforeseen circumstances many of us have experienced this past year, I am proud to say that I continue to be a banana slug. The campus and the town of Santa Cruz fosters a culture that is one of a kind. I have connected with many like-minded people in my major and on the campus as a whole. My stay here at UCSC has given me the ability to grow as an individual, and I am proud to have called this place home for the past two years.
What are your research interests and goals?
I am an earth science major with research interests in paleo climate and stable isotopes. I aspire to venture further into academia and continue to hopefully lead my own research at a research institution in the future. In addition to this, it is my dream to one day sail on an IODP expedition with fellow scientists.
I came to UCSC as a transfer student starting a new major. I quickly fell in love with the material and started finding my way into research. With the help of mentors here at UCSC, I was able to conduct research over the summer at Lamont Observatory. I continued as a lab assistant this past year, working with ocean core samples, and will now be conducting research this summer on various ocean drilling sites.
What advice do you have for incoming UC Santa Cruz students?
My advice for incoming UCSC students is to take advantage of what a reach institution can offer you. There is an abundance of resources and knowledge available to you. I suggest exploring topics in your major and finding out what interests you. Ask professors about their research and what interests them.
Congratulations to Brooke and all of our 2020-2021 award winners! For more student stories, check out the “Student Experience” category on the science.ucsc.edu newscenter.
