When I graduated from the Humboldt Fisheries Program I was honored to receive the Michael G. Scott Award in recognition of my outstanding efforts during my tenure at Humboldt. Receiving this award crowned a fun and rewarding undergraduate experience and I am very glad that I chose Humboldt Fisheries; I can't think of any other undergraduate fisheries programs in the nation that would have better prepared me for a career in fisheries biology. After graduation I took a year off to travel the Pacific Rim and a year to gain valuable work experience while applying for graduate schools and fellowships.

I was delighted to receive a full ride National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship which helped propel me to the University of Washington 's School of Aquatic Fisheries Science , where I am currently pursuing a PhD in Fisheries with an emphasis on river ecology and restoration. My fieldwork has brought me back to the Arcata area, however, where I am working in collaboration with the Yurok Tribe to undertake a comprehensive study of adult chinook migration in the Klamath River Basin . While I am incorporating a variety of data sources into my study, I rely heavily on radio and sonic telemetry to determine chinook migration behavior. Thus I have the privilege of spending my time catching, tagging, and tracking these majestic fish as they complete their final journey to the place of their birth. In light of the massive adult chinook fish kill on the lower Klamath River in 2002, this work is especially pertinent, and I give thanks to Humboldt Fisheries for giving me the foundation I needed in order to undertake such an ambitious and important research Project.