Class of 2021 graduate Brooke Bonnar received special recognition at Commencement for her outstanding work in sustainability at Chesapeake.
Bonnar, a Kent Island High School graduate, worked in Chesapeake's Living Lab and completed three special sustainability projects. The Sustainability Academic Group chose Bonnar as the first student to be recognized for outstanding contributions to Chesapeake's sustainability efforts.
Bonnar's interest in environmental science developed in high school and was further fueled at Chesapeake. She credited Professor Heather Cunningham with both the strength of Chesapeake's biology program and for encouraging students to pursue sustainability studies.
"Brooke is an intelligent and engaging student. She is very passionate about her education and has an outstanding work ethic! She is very conscientious about her work." Cunningham said. "One of the things about Brooke that has always impressed me is how she is genuinely interested in feedback on how to improve. It was pleasure having her in my classes and working with her on her internship in the Living Lab."
Bonnar's work in the Living Lab focused on cataloging and analyzing videos/recordings that were collected in 2020. One project focused on the timing of frog calls in the spring. That information allows Chesapeake researchers to determine which species of frogs are on campus and when they call.
Bonnar's work helped measure the biodiversity on campus, which is key in the college's sustainability efforts by setting a baseline for future comparisons.