We love hearing about our recent graduates’ journey from the MSEM program to post-grad life and how their classes, professors, and even Master’s Projects have supported their careers. This past week we sat down for a call with Spring ‘23 graduate, Whitney Grover, to hear all about how she turned her passion for birds into her full-time job!
Whitney began working an interim position at the Golden Gate Bird Alliance (previously known as Golden Gate Audubon) after her first year in the MSEM program and by the time she graduated she was promoted to Deputy Director. About 10 years ago she did a master birding program and fell in love with birds immediately and knew she had to protect them and create safe habitats. However, her journey to bring her passions to her career wasn’t always a straightforward one. When Whitney began her undergraduate studies she needed to support herself and chose to work as a pharmacy tech. While financially it was great, she wasn’t fulfilled. She would volunteer on the side and take bird surveys, but realized she needed more education to really pivot her career. So, eventually she was able to make her way into the MSEM program, taking classes from Environmental Chemistry and Wetland Ecology to Marine Resources and Water Policy to get a broad scope on how these classes and bird habitats intertwined. She loved each of her classes throughout her MSEM studies and now she is absolutely thrilled with how they have applied to her career and her ability to bring habitat restoration for birds into her work life.
Whitney’s Master’s Project (MP) focused on offshore wind and effects on bird collisions – a very timely issue as plans to construct wind turbines off the West Coast are ramping up. She was able to study where these projects exist in other parts of the world and determined the risks involved for California by analyzing the state’s offshore energy plans. Gratefully, she found that collision risks could be kept relatively low with proper design and siting, which is a win for both renewable energy and birds. The work she did on her MP has been directly applicable to her job such as analyzing environmental impact reports.
Before we hung up with Whitney, we had to ask what is the coolest bird that she’s spotted lately? She had heard about a Swallow-Tailed Gull sighting and knew that it was a nocturnal migrant, so she immediately got in her car and drove to catch the sighting. She made it just in time to see the gulls before they took off that night!
