This post consists of four separate senior reflections written by ALLARM’s 2026 seniors: Crosby, David, Max, and Marja. Please join us in congratulating them on this astounding accomplishment!
Spring Letort Monitoring with seniors Crosby, David, Max, and Marja!
Crosby:
Working with ALLARM has been one of the greatest privileges of my college career. I love the relationships I was able to build with a couple of volunteers during my freshman summer and throughout my sophomore year. I taught them some monitoring procedures once during the summer, and every time I’d see them for the next year at events, we would reconnect. The personal relationships that ALLARM fostered, both with ALLARMies, FTE, and the volunteers, made the work I did feel so meaningful and fulfilling, and was certainly one of my favorite aspects of working at ALLARM.
Similarly, I have loved all the unique experiences which ALLARM has provided me with. One of my favorite events was teaching a class at the Carlisle Arts Learning Center about macroinvertebrates and then attending the Halloween parade with them. It was so much fun to meet the kids and—while I had seen the Halloween parade before—it was a new and amazingly fun experience to be in the parade with them. Without ALLARM I would never have had that opportunity.
In terms of skills and working towards my career goals, I don’t even know where to start. My GIS skills, lab experience, public speaking skills, educational experience, and simple knowledge about how nonprofits function all came from ALLARM and have been invaluable.
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David:
The best event I attended was the macroinvertebrate workshop over the summer with Northern Teir Stream Team. I was really able to show off all I have learned, and it was one of the first workshops where I took a leadership role. In addition, it was just fun! I had never done an overnight work event before.
My favorite memory from ALLARM is anytime we had to do a road trip. It was always incredibly fun to travel with the ALLARM team and get to know everyone beyond what projects they were working on. My favorite project that I have done is creating the macroinvertebrate preservation protocol. This project was incredibly meaningful to me. It is the culmination of all my work with macroinvertebrates at ALLARM.
I really got a chance to polish my skills with R while working at ALLARM. Almost every job I have looked at highly values a prospective employee’s ability to work with statistics and data so I believe my work with R will be incredibly useful to me in the future.
Max:
As my three years at ALLARM come to a close, I reflect on the incredible community that welcomed me and provided constant engagement for my growth in the field of Environmental Studies. Although it is a bittersweet farewell, I am confident in the work I accomplished at ALLARM and am excited for the opportunities I will seize in the future. During my time here, my favorite project I got to work on was the equipment videos, specifically the Orthophosphate and Alkalinity protocols. Though at times they tested my patience and went through millions of revisions, putting science into the hands of the community has been one of my favorite accomplishments at this organization. Creating these videos provided me with tons of memories with both fellow ALLARMies and community volunteers who have watched them on YouTube.
Two years ago, I was able to attend the Franklin County Stream Team training, and it was one of the best events that I’ve attended because I was able to use the knowledge I gained to train new volunteers. This coincides with my favorite ALLARM memory; seeing individuals’ enthusiasm and passion for their local streams while working alongside them to improve watershed health. There has been no better feeling to me than knowing the positive impact that someone is having on their community, especially when those benefits manifest themselves in other capacities, such as reciprocity. Collaboration within a team, community engagement, and efficient scientific communication are all skills that I’ve honed while here and will continue to aid me long into my career.
Marja:
When I first started working at ALLARM, I did not know how much my time here would impact me, both as a young professional in the environmental field and as a person. Although I began working in the lab, which gave me a foundation for understanding what water quality parameters we monitor and the quality control procedures we follow, I ultimately transitioned to the volunteer monitoring team. During my time in this project area, I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with our volunteers, through meetings, trainings, and creating materials, all while gaining a better understanding of the importance of community science. Also, during my time here, I was given the privilege of facilitating our weekly staff meetings, where I got to reach out to guest speakers and organize an alumni panel. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with fellow students and full-time employees who cultivate a wonderful work environment, making me feel supported and challenging me in my projects. Through it all, I have cultivated skills in public speaking, adaptability, communication, and leadership. ALLARM has prepared me well for my next steps, traveling to Guyana to work as a Peace Corps Science and Environment Educator for two years. I hope to carry over some of the things I’ve learned at ALLARM, including the importance of community collaboration, and learn and grow from new adventures! ALLARM has changed me for the better, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without this wonderful organization.