Jillian Gall

Sewaren, NJ

What classes have you taken at COA?  
Entomology
Bryology
Plants with Mettle: Lives of Metallophytes 
Plant Communities of the Americas 
Biology through the Lens 
Plant Systematics 
Lichen Biology 
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 
Cold War: The Early Years 
Organic Chemistry I 
Organic Chemistry II 
Advanced Composition 
Biology I 
Biology II 
Gardens and Greenhouses 
Trees and Shrubs of Mount Desert Island 
Chemistry I 
Chemistry II 
Plants in the Campus Landscape

What has been your favorite class at COA? Why?
Plants with Mettle: Lives of Metallophytes with Nishi Rajakaruna. Growing up in an industrialized area full of superfund sites, I’ve always been interested in how pollutants affect biotic communities and how certain organisms may adapt to these “extreme” conditions.

What was your favorite project at COA? Why?
I’ve enjoyed the hands-on work involved with some of my science classes. Entomology, Bryology, Lichen Biology, and Plant Systematics all involved final, properly curated collections.

What is your dream occupation?
I know what I’m interested in, but I don’t know what my “dream occupation” is-- I’ll probably skip around jobs my entire life until I find the right one. Whatever I end up doing, I want to be giving back to the community or helping others in some way.

Do you work on or off campus? If yes, where?
During the school year, I work both on and off campus. On campus I work in the school’s library for Interlibrary Loan, in the Writing Center as a writing tutor, and in the herbarium shared by COA and Acadia National Park. Off campus, I’ve worked in the kitchen at The Bayview Hotel and at the Bar Harbor Lobster Bakes.

What do you see yourself doing after COA?
After COA I plan to go to graduate school to study the ecology of metalliferous sites.

What country or state would you like to visit?
New Caledonia.

Where would you love to live?
I’m truly an east coast person at heart. Ultimately, I’d like to return to the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut)—my family and my heart are there.

What is happiness to you?
My nonna’s ravioli on Thanksgiving Day.

Have you had an internship?
My internship this summer is an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) out in Kensington, Minnesota with “The Echinacea Project,” an ecology program sponsored by the Chicago Botanic Garden.

What are your ideas for your senior project? If you have already done one, what did you do?
For my senior project, I am examining the transfer of heavy metals from the soil to plants and arthropods on a nearby serpentine outcrop, where the soils have elevated levels of nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and cobalt (Co).