Most professors receive volumes of "junkmail" from students fishing for an advanced degree. Typically
these emails are hastily written, vague and/or tragically misguided. Set yourself apart! Only
correspond with faculty you are interested in working with. Research them and the institution carefully
(e.g., review admittance standards, websites, talk to students) and then craft (and carefully edit) all
correspondence.

Why pick Coastal Carolina and the CMWS MS Program?
1. Small core of highly motivated faculty and students
2. A great variety of wetland types within minutes of campus
3. Broad multidisciplinary focus with faculty expertise ranging from prions to global weather patterns
4. All students receive a small research stipend and most are provided with paid research and/or
teaching opportunities

What I look for in a student - Having come to academia via a nontraditional path I believe that life
experience often trumps stellar undergraduate grades and test scores. Solid students that have
overcome obstacles (e.g., an awful semester, fulltime jobs, a long break after a degree) that are
motivated, write well, and have a high level of self-awareness can be extremely successful at Coastal.

Questions that I am currently developing:
1. Do tropical Ecuadorian reforestation plots increase native biodiversity?
2. Can the distribution of rare endemic plant species be predicted using statistics and GIS?
3. Does fire really promote plant diversity/uniqueness in Carolina Bays?
4. How many roads can a turtle cross to get to another pond?
5. Can conservation easement oversight provide tangible evidence that biodiversity and working landscapes can share time and space
6. Does US Supreme Court Justice Scalia really think that wetlands that are not directly connected to surface waters should not be protected under federal law?