Alumni Spotlight: Sam Bogan ’16

When asked for an update to what he’s doing after college, recent farm graduate Sam Bogan had some exciting things to share. 

“Working on the college farm was a big turning point for me. I relished in catching expressions on the faces of those who were new to the farm, but wasted no time in gleefully losing themselves in a chore. Most of the student farmers might roll their eyes at this one, but looking back, I think my favorite chore was bean sorting. Sure, it often felt like busy work, but the crew had the rare opportunity to come together and converse outside of our usual campus habitat. Everyone seemed more content, more focused, and more at ease while we stoked in the yurts. The farm brought out the best in people. 

 

Since graduating, I’ve been working as an assistant researcher on a project tracing molecular mechanisms of adaptation to ocean warming in coral reef fish at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. In late August, I’m shipping out to Sonoma County, CA to complete a masters thesis at Sonoma State University where I’ll continue exploring the adaptation of marine fishes to climate change, focusing on notothen fish of the Southern Ocean that my lab will study during field seasons at NSF’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. I couldn’t be more happy about where I’m headed, but I still think of the farm every day. Sending my best wishes as you guys hit the peak of your season!”

Here he is pictured with his mom on the day of graduation: 

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