Dr. Freeman’s Nomination
I have been working closely with Dr. Freeman since spring 2020 on an elephant hormone research project that has involved multiple URSP student scholars whom we have co-advised: Simran Chambers and Alexa Herrerias (both in summer 2020) and more recently Garrett Rich (fall 2021 and spring 2022). Navigating the pandemic in spring/summer 2020 was of course quite challenging; Dr. Freeman was invaluable in finding alternate projects that our students could do remotely, pivoting all advising and instruction to online and keep both students motivated and encouraged. She has since continued to give all of our students invaluable mentoring experiences and professional guidance, for example bringing Garrett Rich to the Baltimore Zoo and National Zoo to meet with the elephant keepers directly, and encouraging him to join international societies and attend professional conferences on elephant biology and wildlife endocrinology. All our URSP students say they have enjoyed their experiences immensely, have grown as scholars and as scientists, and all tell me they have greatly appreciated Dr. Freeman’s professionalism, encouragement, and guidance.