Hello! My name is Lauren Yoakum, and I’m a first-year student from Tampa, Florida! I am currently double majoring in both Environmental Science and Geology, with a minor in Interdisciplinary Sciences. My greatest passions lie within conservation paleobiology, paleontology, and climatology! At the moment, I plan on pursuing a research career as a paleontologist. My “dream job” is to use paleontology to study the impact of climate change on organisms of the past, specifically during the Mesozoic era, in order to help organisms of the present adapt to our ever-changing climate.
This summer, I have the opportunity to pursue two parts to my chosen Global Scholars experience! I’ll begin my trip by volunteering on a farm in Cornwall, England, for around three weeks. I am extremely excited to meet my host family in person, work on the farm, and see an entirely new part of the world. After the farm, I will get to study abroad at the FSU London Study Center for two months. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for an experience in my life; from reading on the English countryside to strolling the London streets, it’s easy to say that it all looks almost too good to be true!
In both Cornwall and London, I plan on taking various soil samples in order to measure their pH levels. I want to compare the extent of soil acidification between the two very-different environments, and use this comparison to determine how human-caused climate change may impact fossil preservation. I believe that fossil preservation and the ability to understand Earth’s past is extremely important in reducing climate change. In order to understand how my studies apply to the community I’ll be in, I am going to interview a fossil curator from the Natural History Museum to get their insight on the best solutions to aiding fossil preservation. I’m very excited to learn more about my topic, and to hear more about other people’s Global Scholars experiences as well!
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