Kelsey O’Donnell
She/Her
I am queer and I am a PhD student studying coastal dynamics.//
I have always known that I wanted to be a scientist, even before I knew that I was queer. It seemed indescribably exciting to me, to get to discover new things about the natural world and add to the global bubble of knowledge. As a student in the beginning of my STEM career, I didn’t see how my queer identity related to what I loved to study. As I have progressed, however, I see that it provides me a unique perspective and background of thinking outside the norm and has encouraged me to foster a welcoming and inclusive community within the sometimes stiff corridors of academia.