Amber Brewer first came to the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) to check a box for her major. That one action led to multiple summers at UMBS, a love of chemistry, and a career in environmental health sciences. Like many students before her, a hands-on, immersive experience at UMBS inspired her to change her career trajectory and focus on the environment.
“I thank myself for making that decision every single day,” she says.
When Brewer arrived on University of Michigan’s campus her first year, she was keen to pursue medicine – but all the introductory chemistry classes on campus were booked. She knew she needed the class to stay on track for her degree and was looking for creative solutions.
“I saw a UMBS poster on a corkboard and noticed that I could take the chemistry class I was required to take for medical school in a quarter of the time,” she recalls.
Despite her initial anxiety at the prospect of living and learning at a forested field-camp in northern Michigan, Brewer immediately bonded with her 2019 spring chemistry class. She and her peers learned about the environmental health consequences of human-generated pollutants, from commercial fertilizers to dangerous post-industrial PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that can linger in soil and water. They also learned that chemistry can be used as a powerful tool to better understand and mitigate these harmful effects.
She was hooked.
“My hometown has a massive PFAS issue in our water. Through chemistry at UMBS, I saw first-hand how dangerous and pervasive those common chemicals can be. When I went home at the end of August 2019, I had totally fallen in love with the idea of helping to mitigate the PFAS not only in my hometown, but the rest of the world.”
Brewer sprung into action. Upon returning to campus, she decided to change her major to focus on the environment and health science. Her mentors at UMBS recognized her talent and hired her as a lab tech for the rest of summer 2019. She returned as a teaching assistant for the UMBS chemistry course in summer 2021.
Now, Brewer is about to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in public health and chemistry. After finishing an accelerated master’s in environmental health sciences, she plans to apply to PhD programs in toxicology – a path that would have remained untraveled had she not needed to creatively “check a box” to earn her chemistry credit.
“I am so incredibly proud of my time at UMBS. It sounds corny to admit it, but the Bio Station is my favorite place on Earth. I have yet to meet as many fantastic people in one single place. UMBS totally changed my life, and I credit it for leading to many of the successes I have had as a University of Michigan student.”
