A Ph.D worth of thanks: Full @USU_Ecology acknowledgments version.
So, when I came to USU over four years ago, I had no idea how my experience would end up. I guess I should have anticipated that it might look something like the right side of this popular meme:
Although my path through life, including my Ph.D, has been less than linear, it has been a great run, with ups, downs, sprints and jogs. Above all, there are numerous, great people with whom I have been able to work, adventure, and otherwise, spend time with. While it might take a while, I need to thank all of the people for their contributions to my time in Logan and at USU. I got the chance to do that in my dissertation. But nobody reads dissertations. Nobody.
Below, is the acknowledgments page, as written in my dissertation. I'll break a few other sections out for further explanation in ensuing posts.
Dr. Laurie Baefsky, Dr. Eric Chapman, Derrick Cooper, Seth and Megan Dettenmaier, Ben Dittbrenner, Logan Elmore, Dr. Kern Ewing, Evan Honeyfield, Tyler King, Andy Kleinhesselink, Dr. Brian Laub, Joel Martin, Dr. Christy Meredith, Nate Moody, Dr. Lloyd Nackley, Mike Nadock, Marco Negovschi, Jeff Ojala, Rodney Pond, the late Dr. Daniel Sarr, Keelin Schaffrath, Dr. Justin Stout, Dr. Erik Syrstad, Dr. Andrew Tredennick, and Alex Walker were great members of my academic and/or outdoor communities. Thanks for the trails, turns, and banter, gang. It was an absolute honor to share my time in Logan with Dr. Ann Armstrong and Brian Greene (and Thea) the best friends and neighbors I could have asked for.
Nate Hough-Snee
Although my path through life, including my Ph.D, has been less than linear, it has been a great run, with ups, downs, sprints and jogs. Above all, there are numerous, great people with whom I have been able to work, adventure, and otherwise, spend time with. While it might take a while, I need to thank all of the people for their contributions to my time in Logan and at USU. I got the chance to do that in my dissertation. But nobody reads dissertations. Nobody.
Below, is the acknowledgments page, as written in my dissertation. I'll break a few other sections out for further explanation in ensuing posts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My research at Utah State University was made possible by numerous funders and individuals to whom I am very grateful. The Utah State University Graduate School provided a Presidential Fellowship, the U.S. Forest Service supported me as an employee in 2012-13, while the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources provided additional funding. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supported me as a STAR Fellow in 2014-16 (Assistance Agreement no. 91768201 – 0). The Utah State University Ecology Center and Graduate School, the Society of Wetland Scientists, and the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Pacific Northwest Chapter provided research and travel support. Data for the work presented here was collected and provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center and U.S. Forest Service’s PACFISH/INFISH Biological Opinion Effectiveness Monitoring Program.
During my time in Logan, I relied on numerous individuals for support, friendship, mentoring, collaboration, and motivation. Foremost, I thank Drs. Joe Wheaton and Brett Roper for their support and mentoring. Under Brett and Joe’s guidance I have been able to achieve things that I never could have imagined. I look forward to continuing to work with both individuals to understand, restore, and steward North America’s streams. Thanks, gentlemen. I am thankful to the rest of my academic committee, the talented, creative, and inspiring trio of Drs. Nancy Huntly, Jim Lutz, and Mike Scott. They work hard, have fun, and dream big. I am very grateful for their support and words of encouragement. Brian Bailey and Enid Kelley have provided ace administrative support during my time in Logan. Thank you all.
I had elite company within the Ecogeomorphology and Topographic Analysis lab at the Fluvial Habitat Center (FHC). The FHC’s Sara Bangen, Dr. Steve Bennett, Dr.Nick Bouwes, Dr. “Big Water” Pete McHugh, Elijah Portugal, and Dr. Carl “the Colonel” Saunders have been great resources. Wally MacFarlane, mentor and friend, has been invaluable to my development while in residence in Logan. Thanks, Wally. “Keep it” Kenny DeMeurichy is a fantastic surveyor with a heart of gold. It was great to learn from you, Kenny. Current and former FHC students Reid Camp, Flori Consolati, Dan Hamill, James Hensleigh, Martha Jensen, Alan “Young money, cash money” Kasprak, Ryan Lokteff and Rebecca Rossi were exceptional peers and are poised to take over the world. Additionally, Logan Elmore, Marco Negovschi, Elijah Portugal, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Kent Sorenson, and Utah Conservation Corps volunteers helped me to carry out a stream restoration and monitoring project in 2014.
All of my coauthors have been phenomenal, however, Dr. David Merritt of the U.S. Forest Service and Dr. Greg Auble of the U.S. Geological Survey in Fort Collins, Colorado have been exceedingly generous. Thanks for the discussion, encouragement, and opportunities, gentlemen. I thank the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Pacific Northwest Chapter board members, Yvonne Vallette, Colin MacLaren, Dr. Lizbeth Seebacher, Karla Leaven, Maki Dalzell, and Katrina Poppe, and longtime Rocky Mountain Chapter president, Andy Herb, for great professional service opportunities.
Dr. Laurie Baefsky, Dr. Eric Chapman, Derrick Cooper, Seth and Megan Dettenmaier, Ben Dittbrenner, Logan Elmore, Dr. Kern Ewing, Evan Honeyfield, Tyler King, Andy Kleinhesselink, Dr. Brian Laub, Joel Martin, Dr. Christy Meredith, Nate Moody, Dr. Lloyd Nackley, Mike Nadock, Marco Negovschi, Jeff Ojala, Rodney Pond, the late Dr. Daniel Sarr, Keelin Schaffrath, Dr. Justin Stout, Dr. Erik Syrstad, Dr. Andrew Tredennick, and Alex Walker were great members of my academic and/or outdoor communities. Thanks for the trails, turns, and banter, gang. It was an absolute honor to share my time in Logan with Dr. Ann Armstrong and Brian Greene (and Thea) the best friends and neighbors I could have asked for.
Family made all of this possible. My parents, Patrick Snee and Tanya Hough, made many sacrifices on my siblings’ and my behalf. Encouraging us only to dream big, work hard, and have fun, they provided a world of possibility. My inspirational siblings, Dex and Vaune, have only one gear – full speed ahead. Dad is right…we should have been born in Sparta.
My in-laws, Lloyd and Sharon Long are fantastic people and I thank them for their encouragement. Their daughter, my best friend and partner, Lexine Long, has the toughest job in the world – putting up with me as I bite off more than I should reasonably chew. Lex, I love you and really appreciate all that you do for me. I owe you big time. Cedar, you’re a dog, but a damn good one, which is what counts.
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| Lex and Cedar, propping me up, per normal |