Name: Kayla Cannon
Major: Biology
Hometown: Downingtown, PA
Key ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï experiences:
- Completing a year-long senior research thesis on forest raptors’ nesting distributions with the guidance of Dr. Rebecca McCabe and Dr. Laurie Goodrich at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Dr. Jennifer Skirkanich at BMC
- Studying abroad in St. Andrews, Scotland, where I took graduate-level courses in animal cognition and botany, explored British national parks, and learned to ceilidh dance
- Experiencing two critical roles in academic support through work as a teaching assistant for BIOL B111 lecture and lab (Spring 2023) and as a circulation assistant at Canaday library (Fall 2020, Fall 2022–Spring 2023)
- Dancing with the BMC Scottish Country Dance club from my first year onward, which led to participation in music festivals across Scotland and then engagement with folk dance throughout the Delaware Valley
Post-graduation Plans: I will be broadening my environmental education experience this summer through an education and outreach internship with Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, PA, and then embarking upon graduate study in ecology centered on avian behavior.
People I want to thank: My amazing professors and mentors, especially Jen Skirkanich, Greg Davis, Roberta Ricci, and Luca Zipoli (BMC), Alessandro Giammei (BMC/Yale), Becca McCabe and Laurie Goodrich (Hawk Mountain), and my research team at the Shoals Marine Laboratory. Also, dear friends on and off-campus for abundant encouragement, comfort, and laughter. Most of all, my family, who have been there for me from the early days of rocks in the dryer and toads in the kitchenware to the more recent ones of long drives to field sites and ecstatic reactions to vultures. I’ll never grow up enough to stop filling the house with leaves and seed pods—but now I can describe what they are!
Members of the Class of 2023, we want to hear from you! Drop us a note at news@brynmawr.edu. Include a photo of yourself and let us know what you have planned for life after ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï, who you'd like to thank, words of wisdom, or whatever else you'd like to say. We'll be sharing selected profiles on the College's website and social media channels over the next few weeks.