Friday, December 12 is the University of Georgia’s official convocation day for Fall 2025 graduates, and we’re proud to congratulate a number of students, including four of our Natural Infrastructure Fellows, as part of the graduating class!

Elizabeth Collins, College of Engineering

Advisor: Dr. Brock Woodson had the greatest impact on me during my time at UGA. Brock was my main advisor and biggest supporter while at UGA. He gave me the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for 2 years and grow my leadership skills and he was a huge part of finishing my thesis and I wouldn’t be graduating without his support.  

Post-grad plans: After graduation I am planning on taking the Fundamental Engineering license exam and looking for a job in Charleston or Savannah. I also have a few scuba diving trips planned for January to celebrate graduating! 

Favorite class at UGA: Coastal & Estuarine Processes with Engineering Applications (Dr. Matt Bilskie)

Most proud of: I am most proud of the confidence I gained during my time at UGA. I stepped into roles and participated in tasks that I never thought I would. I was able to grow my leadership, teamwork, and communication skills while at UGA. I will be forever grateful for my time at UGA. 

Alexa Ouellette, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

Advisor: My advisor, Dr. Nate Nibbelink had the greatest impact on me while I was here. He was always incredibly helpful throughout my whole thesis, helping me to troubleshoot any issues that came up, as well have giving a lot of direction to make my project that much better. If anything came up outside of my thesis, he was always incredibly supportive and always made me feel heard and like I could go to him with any concerns.   

Post-grad plans: I am planning to move back to Raleigh, NC with my partner. I am hoping to work in the natural-infrastructure consulting space in an ecologist role, or for a non-profit working on conservation planning and decision making, or maybe some combination of the two!

Favorite class at UGA: Either Restoration Ecology (Dr. Lizzie King) or Wetland Management and Restoration (Dr. Rhett Jackson)

Most proud of: I am most proud of my thesis research and being able to finish it. It was a project that my advisor, Ducks Unlimited, and I formed together after I started here at UGA, so I was able to work it from the very beginnings of a literature review all the way through to a finalized product. There were a lot of roadblocks and hurdles along the way, mostly around data availability, and I am really proud of how we worked with the little information we had. I also had a lot of great opportunities to present my research at various conferences and talks, and it was always really well received by people really interested in the work we were doing. 

Congratulations to the rest of our graduating class!