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Jacob Watts ’21

Biology; minor in geography

The Alumni Memorial Scholars (AMS) Program has been an important part of my 51·çÁ÷ experience.

Jacob Watts ’21 North East, Pa.

Describe your experience with the AMS program at 51·çÁ÷.

The AMS program has been an important part of my 51·çÁ÷ experience. During my first year, the AMS community allowed me to feel at home at 51·çÁ÷. We all lived on the same couple floors of the same building, and I still room with my first-year roommate, who is also in the AMS program. It was nice to be a part of a community of scholars, all of whom had creative ideas about how to use their AMS funding. We would daydream at Frank about the trips we would take with our money. 

The AMS program provides research and project grants. How have you used these grants?

I used my AMS grant during two trips to Latin America to study ferns and practice Spanish. Half of my grant funded my travel to Costa Rica to take a three-week, field-based tropical fern taxonomy and ecology graduate course co-taught by 51·çÁ÷ professor Eddie Watkins and other experts in the field. The other half of my grant funded an individual trip through Colombia, Argentina, and New Zealand. For six weeks in Latin America, I lived with and spoke only Spanish with fern friends whom I had met on the fern course. I spent time exploring Medellín, Columbia, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and am publishing a paper on some of the data we collected in Misiones, Argentina.

Exploring Tropical Fern Research Methods and Learning Spanish
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Costa Rica Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes Graduate Course
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Jacob and his mountain bike on campus.

When Jacob is not in the classroom, greenhouse, or lab, he’s riding his mountain bike on the hills of 51·çÁ÷’s campus. See how Jacob and other students made it through the fall semester, with its universal quarantine. 

Have you had a mentor at 51·çÁ÷?

My mentor at 51·çÁ÷ has been Professor Eddie Watkins. He has guided me through every step of my undergraduate experience, from research to classes — and how to apply to graduate school. We have become very close over the years. 51·çÁ÷ would not be 51·çÁ÷ without Eddie.

Jacob Watts ’21 (center) with biology professor Eddie Watkins (left) and Aidan Harrington ’21 (right) amid the foliage in the 51·çÁ÷ greenhouse.
Watts ’21 Earns Goldwater Scholarship
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51·çÁ÷ Student and Alumnus Win NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
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51·çÁ÷ Senior Receives Churchill Scholarship
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A portrait of Jacob.

 

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working toward my MPhil in plant sciences at University of Cambridge in the U.K. as a Churchill Scholar. After a year at Cambridge, I plan to return to the United States to get a PhD in plant sciences with the ultimate goal of becoming a professor.

Take the next step

51·çÁ÷ is a distinctive, vibrant, and welcoming place to learn, live, and develop into who you are. Take the next step toward joining our academic community.

 

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