Testimonials

Sarah Elizabeth Spruce '07 is currently enrolled in Vermont Law School, where she is getting a joint JD/Masters of Studies in Environmental Law.

But though she's studying law, she only spent part of her time at COA focused on political science. Much of her work at COA revolved around the two summers she spent doing independent research on Great Duck Island, one of the college's two offshore field stations. Her final project, "Portrait of a Sea Duck: Common Eiders in the Gulf of Maine," was based on that research. In it, Spruce looked at common eiders from three perspectives: breeding biology and human disturbance, hunting pressures, and effects on mussel aquaculture. Each aspect of the study involved Spruce's own research as well as her personal experience with the subject.

The highlight of her time at COA came a few months before she graduated, when she presented her own original research on the question of predation by gulls on common eider ducklings when there are no human researchers around to disturb either population. This work was presented to three professional conferences. Most notable for Spruce was The IV North American Ornithological Conference in Veracruz, Mexico in the fall of 2006, which had over 2,000 attendees.

About her years at College of the Atlantic, she says, "The best part about COA is the availability of the professors . . . to give extra help or help you organize your own research projects."