Kelly Le Quesne

Who was your postgraduate research supervisor?

Dr Ian Duggan

What was the title of your thesis?

Zooplankton communities: are natural waters and farm dams the same?

What were the highlights of your time at the University of Waikato?

I loved working alongside extremely knowledgeable people (both staff and students). I also really enjoyed working as a tutor and demonstrator during my postgraduate study - it was awesome teaching new students while solidifying my knowledge as well.

Where are you currently working and what is your role?

I currently work for Horizons Regional Council in Palmerston North as a Research Associate for the Water Quality and Biomonitoring team. This role involves a lot of fieldwork, including visual assessments of periphyton and the state of the environment, as well as monitoring macroinvertebrate and didymo.

If you got the chance to study at university again, what would you do differently?

I would have liked to have helped more postgraduate students with their fieldwork so I could gain more experience in different areas of freshwater science. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing! I love my chosen career path in freshwater sciences and I made sure that I took advantage of all the opportunities presented to me while I was studying.