Storytelling as a STEM Research Assistant
Brooklyn Toller
Since the summer of 2025, I have been working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at Syracuse University, under the supervision of Dr. Tao Wen. The position has given me the opportunity to engage in ongoing environmental monitoring of local waterways.
Every two weeks, I head out to local streams to conduct field sampling, measuring temperature, pH, and conductivity. These parameters serve as baseline indicators of stream health and allow our team to track changes over time. On a monthly basis, I collect water samples that will later be used for further laboratory analysis, which allows for a more detailed look at the chemical composition of these waterways. At first, it felt like learning a set of technical skills like how to use the equipment, how to record data correctly, how to stay consistent. But over time, I began to become familiar with the sites, notice small seasonal changes, and understand that even subtle shifts in the data could tell a bigger story about the health of the ecosystem.
A big part of this experience has been working alongside Kathleen Stribley of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). She brings not only expertise, but a real sense of connection to the community and the environment we’re working in. Being in the field with her has taught me to slow down and pay attention. Not just collecting numbers but understanding what they represent.
More recently, I’ve also been involved in a project called “Waterlines”, a podcast series focused on translating research from the department into something more accessible to the community. This has been completely different from my typical research work. Instead of collecting data, I’m thinking about how to communicate and take complex scientific papers and turn them into something people want to listen to and can understand.
Working on Waterlines has made me realize how important it is to make community information accessible. Research doesn’t mean much if it never reaches the people it affects.
Both parts of this work, I’ve come to see, are forms of environmental storytelling. One contributes data while the other contributes understanding.
What I’ll carry with me from this experience isn’t just what I learned, but how it changed the way I see the work itself. Research feels less like an assignment and more like a way of understanding and contributing to the world around me.
