Christen L. Mc Coy

I was born in Chicago, IL then moved to South Florida when I was 7. I moved again to Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia when I was 10, and stayed there until I left for college.

As long as I can remember I’ve been interested in ecology, granted most of those years I had no idea it was ecology.  My interest of parasite ecology is somewhat recent.  I knew about parasites before, but I didn’t know anything specific about them or how they worked.  It wasn’t until a combination of working in Dr. Sukhdeo’s lab and the class invertebrate zoology got me very curious about these organisms.  I started to learn more about them and every new thing I learned made me more attracted to them.  After the class Parasite ecology there was no doubt in my mind that these organisms where the most amazing creatures on the planet! 

One notable experience for me was the first time I went to Ag Field day at Cook.  My first two years at Rutgers I did not live on Cook campus so I didn’t know what Ag Field day was about.  The fist one I went was in my junior year.  I was really surprised at just how much fun it was!  I watched a puppy dog show and cockroaches racing, what could be better? 

As a freshman in college I was struggling to figure out which of my two major interests I was going to pursue: Biology or Theater.  I decided to explore both options and I went to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, walked into the biodiversity hall, and was completely overwhelmed.  It was not the fist time I was in the hall but it was the fist time I truly appreciated it.  I decided right then that this is what I really want to do.  I became Biology major then later Ecology major, and now I’m starting my PhD in Ecology.

In the near future I am starting my PhD here at Rutgers working with Dr. Sukhdeo and parasite ecology.  In the distant future I hope to finish my PhD and eventually become a professor at a University with my own research lab and classes to design and teach.

I started out at Rutgers as a Livingston student and a bio major and ended up being a Cook student and an Ecology major.  I never regretted that change for a second.  It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my academic career.