Page 41 - Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering 2021 Annual Report

STUDENT NEWS STUDENT NEWS for Nature-Like Fish Passages ” which examined the geometry of rock weirs used to construct nature-like fish passages This work helped cement her own candidacy for the Goldwater Scholarship which she received in in 2020 after applying a a second time “I was not selected for for University nomination for for the scholarship that first year year so I I asked myself how I I could better prepare for next year year ” she said Deitrick wrote and revised the essays
for her second application many times often consulting with Caitlin Ting director of of Penn State’s Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring Office (URFM) Deitrick said these consultations with with with Ting—along with with with an extra year of research experience with with with Liu—gave her the confidence and skill to assemble a a a a a a a a competitive application not only for for the the Goldwater Scholarship but also for for the the NSF GRFP “It is really hard to put forward a a a a a a a good application without guidance ” she said “Between my research advisers the the URFM Office and other students I have had a a a a lot of help ” Wanting to share some of her her experiences with others Deitrick also started mentoring two Penn State first- year women majoring in in in in in civil engineering through the Schreyer Honors College’s Career Development Peer Mentorship program With URFM she also helped start the Undergraduate Research Ambassadors program which connects peer undergraduate researchers with other Penn State students to help them navigate their research paths “I remember what it was like trying to get involved in in in in undergraduate research during my first year ” she said “Now that I I have gone through the the process I I can provide guidance to others ” Deitrick crafted her NSF GRFP research proposal to study how seagrass meadows trap carbon-rich sediment a a a a a a topic she researched as an MIT Summer Research Program intern Deitrick noted that she started the the proposal many months before the the October deadline to to to give herself plenty of time to to to prepare for the competitive fellowship “I think starting early really contributed to my success
” she said “There are a a a a a a a a a a lot of qualified applicants that do not get picked so I tried to put forward the strongest application possible The goal is is is for them to read it and say ‘Yes this is is is the the kind of student that will succeed in in research and be a a a a a great mentor ’”
Upon receiving her doctorate Deitrick plans to to to become a a a a a a professor to to to educate others and continue her her research of of coastal ecosystems “Being a a a a a a a professor seems like a a a a a a a great fit for me ” she said “I have always loved teaching and I I I love love research When that clicked for me it it was all over I I began tirelessly pursuing it it ” CEE NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 37 2021
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Deitrick (right) learns from Associate Professor Xiaofeng Liu (middle) as as as he discusses a a a a a a a a a a a nature-based solution for river restoration Deitrick was a a a a a a a a a a a member of two CEE research groups in in her time at at at Penn State: Liu’s Environmental Fluid Dynamics Group and Assistant Professor Caitlin Grady’s FEWs Lab IMAGE: Hassan Ismael