Student Spotlight: Jillian Taylor

Jillian's passion for the natural resources field came from growing up in nature and connecting with the environment on a deep level. Attending a vocational technical school and taking a class in environmental sciences and technology led her drive to understand the world around her and use scientific knowledge to conserve the natural world.

On campus, Jillian is the secretary and one of the team captains for the UMass Quad Ball Club Team! She also works as a peer mentor in the Natural Resources Conservation major, and also works as a mentor in the Forsythe Grange Mentoring Program, that creates scholarships and training opportunities for undergraduate students to be engaged in mentorship, especially students belonging to underserved groups in science disciplines. 

Currently, she is interning in the River Herring lab where she works on preparing and aging otoliths (ear bones) commonly used in determining the age of fish. 

After graduation, Jillian hopes to continue her studies in natural resource conservation in graduate school! Her advice to students is "to find what makes you happy and fill in your own little niche, wherever it may be." 

She also shares that what she likes most about being a student in the College of Natural Sciences is "the connections that you make, the support you have, and that you can see how passionate your mentors and professors are about what they do."