Maeve Kelley

Maeve Kelley, from South Portland, Maine will graduate in May 2022 with a bachelor of science degree in wildlife and conservation biology and a minor in animal behavior. She is the vice president of Xi Sigma Pi: Natural Resources and the Environment (NREN) Honors Society. In the Summer of 2021, Maeve conducted her research project with a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and earned course credit for it that fall. Thanks to this opportunity and her advisor Dr. Jennifer Purrenhage, she was able to gain experience in field work and independent research. Maeve learned a great deal about Blanding’s turtles including their landscape, their behavior, outside threats to their population, and more. She also learned about GIS (Geographic Informational System) and the challenges that came with operating the difficult software. She admitted that running a connectivity analysis was hard, yet she enjoyed problem solving. Of everything, Maeve says the field work was a highlight of her undergraduate career. She shared her research project with Inquiry to inform the public about the importance of her research subject while highlighting the work she did during her final year at UNH. Maeve’s career goal is to work in the field, directly interacting with wildlife for as long as possible. She hopes eventually to earn her master’s degree in wildlife and conservation.