Hannah Kepner
Hannah Kepner
Undergraduate Research Internship – UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO)
Hometown: Alpharetta, GA
Major: Biology (Marine Biology Concentration); Minor in Ecology
College: Franklin College of Arts & Sciences
Career goals: Planning to pursue a PhD in Oceanography or Marine Biology. I’m hoping to continue working in marine science research and pursue a career in academia, ideally in marine ecology or biological oceanography research.
Class of 2021
*EL Scholarship Recipient
Hannah participated in a summer Undergraduate Research Internship at the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, studying gelatinous zooplankton in Dr. Adam T. Greer’s Zero-C Lab.
"This internship has absolutely motivated me to continue engaging in scientific research. My experience at Skidaway has helped convince me to pursue a graduate degree. It has been so valuable in helping me identify my areas of interest and streamlining my graduate school applications process."
"At the beginning of this internship, I had no prior experience in research, and I’d never worked in a marine science lab before. I was able to experience an accelerated version of the scientific research process, starting with developing my own potential questions, working through new methods and instruments, and finally to the collection and analysis of data. My project at Skidaway has allowed me to develop my own understanding of research as a profession.
This internship put me in a real, active research environment and reality-checked my prior dramatized notions of what it actually means to conduct research. I’ve realized that my long-term goal is to continue research in marine sciences, and if the opportunity was available, I would love to continue working in the same lab."