Sometimes a quick email is all it takes to make an impact.
That was the case for Grand Canyon University environmental science assistant professor Dr. Berenise Charlton, who scored a win-win for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and GCU environmental science students.
Charlton wants to bring as many opportunities as possible to the small program and offer big opportunities, she said.
The professor met ADEQ representatives while monitoring water with GCU environmental science major Kyleigh Howell, a junior who wants to be a marine biologist. Charlton reached out to the department, and ADEQ was quick to respond.
ADEQ assigned GCU students 10 sites to monitor, which gives them hands-on experience in water-quality monitoring and invaluable career opportunities.
Now the environmental science program and ADEQ are expanding their partnership, with her lab team in the Research and Design Program being named an official ADEQ partner.
"It expands the reach of her research and connects her and her student team to ADEQ facilities and personnel as they help monitor water quality around the state," said Dr. Jon Valla, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences.
“I really wasn't sure what the program would look like when I came to GCU, because the program for environmental sciences is pretty small,” Howell said.
But now the environmental science lab has grown much larger than she anticipated, transforming from a small, intimate space into a thriving community. What was a team of two turned into a team of four, with the possibility of two more joining soon.
Through the partnership, students focus on surface water and bacterial contamination. They apply their classroom knowledge to real-world experience while building their resume and impacting their community. The students make a commitment to collect data monthly at various sites across the city, checking their assigned sites for temperature, turbidity, pH, and microbial parameters.
“Every month we gather data that's important and necessary for maintaining the environment and making sure that everything is being kept clean and safe for others," Howell said. "Though it might not seem like a big impact, you're still affecting change in your community, and when you're looking at moving forward into your career, employers want to see that you care about your community,” Howell said.
The students who are working with ADEQ are getting to see firsthand the importance of water quality.
They said they see water canals full of trash, knowing the water we consume originates from those canals. Canal and river water are diverted into sources of drinking water.
Agencies such as ADEQ control surface and groundwater pollution to ensure public water systems provide healthy drinking water.
Students who go through the program will have three years of water sampling experience by the time they graduate.
“Some of our most recent graduates were recently hired with ADEQ in the water department,” Charlton said.
Students who take on the challenge also gain an impactful mentorship with Charlton, receive lab and field safety training, and are involved in data collection, conferences and public speaking.
“I am so incredibly grateful for her mentorship," Howell said of working with Charlton. "... She's so incredibly supportive."
She also appreciates getting to work with like-minded individuals who share her passion and being part of a unique space where she feels a true sense of belonging — something different from her friendships outside the lab.
Charlton said students in her lab are learning valuable skills, from being innovative, outside-the-box thinkers and environmental stewards to becoming effective communicators as they share the information they learn on protecting water to the average person.
“When students participate in partnerships like this and are involved behind the scenes, they are serving others and helping others flourish, to really realize, yes, I as an individual can contribute a small part that collectively makes a big difference,” Charlton said.
Howell encourages students to get involved in the partnership: “It benefits yourself and your future, by gaining this experience, and meeting people that you can make connections with, along with impacting the environment."
Howell has learned leadership skills, how to work with a team, balance internship with social life and school, and a lot of patience during the long research process. “The partnership has had such a profound impact on my life. I will still love and enjoy my time with this project, no matter how hard it gets."
GCU student writer Leandra Lepp can be reached at [email protected]
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