We asked our graduating seniors to answer these 4 questions --and although it was the week of finals, they came through! 

1) What are your plans for next year?

2) What's your favorite EEB moment/experience?

3) Why did you choose this major?

4) Do you have any advice for incoming undergrads?

Read their answers below - and join us in congratulating the exceptional EEB Class of 2026! 

Gigi Lu

1. I plan to go to Brunei to do a 1-year Fulbright research project on bay cats, as it's been a long-time dream of mine to study the more obscure (but equally fascinating and valuable) smaller cousins of the big cats that dominate conservation research. Following this, I will start my PhD in theoretical and stable isotope ecology at UC Merced.


2. It's really hard to choose just one EEB experience as my "favorite." I've really loved being a part of the Perfectomeer lab. I had the chance to go to Puerto Rico for field research and also learn about ecological models and the social science of the agroecological movement in an interdisciplinary environment. I also had an amazing experience with the Biology of Mammals class taught by Dr. Cortes-Ortiz and Mariah Schlis-Elias. We got to work hands-on with tons of different specimens and take in-depth tours at the Research Museum Center, which is one of my favorite places at UM.

3. I chose EEB (and Math) because I knew that I wanted to pursue theoretical ecology in the context of conservation. I believe that with the rate of global change only seeming to accelerate, we need tools like theoretical models to understand how things like novel species interactions might affect the functioning of ecosystems. However, theoretical ecology has roots in fields like mathematics and the physicals sciences, and many theorists therefore do not actually do field work to observe the systems they are modelling. On the other hand, many field ecologists find models intimidating or boring because of all the underlying math and programming. I think that this gap between theorists and empiricists is detrimental to the progression of ecological research. I aim to split my work 50/50 between theoretical and empirical research, and I hope that I can act as a bridge between the two sides through conversations, teaching, and mentoring to foster mutual understanding and collaboration. I also love EEB because many people share my values on the relationships between nature and people, and people and policy. As ecologists, I believe that we need to be advocates for nature (which includes humans) and also participate in efforts that integrate our science into policies that affect our everyday lives.

4. As someone who fears failure and is socially awkward, I would say to please allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised. Always let yourself shoot for opportunities you want, even if you don't feel qualified to do so. Just putting together an application and reaching out to people you'd be interested in working with can spark interesting conversations and reveal additional opportunities. Go to clubs like MEEBS and the Society for Conservation Biology to learn about grants to fund your research, see what your peers are doing, and chat with career professionals at workshops and speaker events. Get to know your professors and graduate students outside of the classroom setting; doing this led to some of the most impactful conversations I've ever had. How did their backgrounds influence the path they took, how they manage work-life balance, how to navigate negativity from people who don't take ecological research seriously, etc. Though they might seem intimidating at first, most professors and grad students are amazing resources and really awesome people, so don't be afraid to approach them!