This week\u2019s Alumni Spotlight shines on Heather Woodhams of Seattle, Washington, who is originally from Topsham, Maine. She is a 2011 UMM graduate of the Marine Biology Program. Heather is currently a North Pacific Groundfish Observer.<\/p>\n
I currently work for Saltwater Inc., a contractor to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). \u00a0I work primarily in the Bering Sea collecting biological data for stock management in multiple commercial fisheries.<\/p>\n
The most valuable thing I learned while at UMM was probably the use of dichotomous keys. \u00a0I use them very frequently at work. Knowing how to use them and basic fish anatomy are<\/p>\n
the basics in my job.<\/p>\n
Get involved! \u00a0Find a professor you like and try and work for them. \u00a0I worked for Dr. Kraus for multiple years doing a variety of work. \u00a0Although the work I am currently doing does not specifically pertain to what I did for her, it helped me get to where I am. \u00a0I learned so much from her outside of class, it has been very beneficial for me since UMM.<\/p>\n
My other suggestion would be to start thinking about the future now. \u00a0I didn\u2019t think about Grad school or what I wanted to do after UMM until I graduated. \u00a0I have realized now that I should have been thinking about what I would do next a lot sooner.<\/p>\n
My classes in the Marine Bio program have been vital. \u00a0Classes like Ichthyology, Algal biology and Genetics taught me a lot of what I use everyday in the field. \u00a0Field work, statistics<\/p>\n
and my GIS have also been important.<\/p>\n
UMM taught me a lot about work ethic and working independently. \u00a0I feel I received a valuable education that has prepared me for multiple job fields. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I am very glad I went to UMM and I feel it has prepared me well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week\u2019s Alumni Spotlight shines on Heather Woodhams of Seattle, Washington, who is originally from Topsham, Maine. She is a 2011 UMM graduate of the Marine Biology Program. Heather is currently a North Pacific Groundfish Observer. Tell us a little bit about what you are doing now: I currently work for Saltwater Inc., a contractor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":431,"featured_media":11940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,6],"academic-area":[],"umaine-feed":[890],"region":[],"class_list":["post-4107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-news","umaine-feed-marine-alum"],"yoast_head":"\n