It wasn’t long after that she saw a line in a campus newsletter about a new opportunity for students: a semester at Stone Lab. (Photo by Jodi Miller) Learning, making an impact at the island laboratory This research is part of the prestigious Research Experience for Undergrads fellowship program. Kushnir conducted limnology research at Stone Laboratory this summer with Chaffin, her research mentor. Alex Kushnir and Justin Chaffin take a boat to an appointed buoy in Lake Erie to collect water samples. “I've really enjoyed it because I spend time in the lab but also get out on boats on the water,” she says. That opened her eyes to the possibilities of a career in water science research. Originally a landscape architecture major, she took an environmental science class. It’s been really rewarding.”Īs she acclimated to Columbus and Ohio State, she found a path outside rowing as well. We do so many hard things together, but it bonds us. I wasn’t used to being surrounded by land. “It was a challenge, I’m not going to lie,” Kushnir recalls. Her only familiar ground was actually the water, rowing on the Scioto River with her teammates. Kushnir arrived on Ohio State’s campus in January 2021, at the height of COVID-19 shutdowns, not fluent in English and surrounded by land. While the recruitment process was seamless, the timing of her arrival in Columbus wasn’t. Kushnir, a first-generation college student, was recruited to row at Ohio State with Montesano’s help and encouragement. One of Kushnir’s international teammates was Alessandra Montesano ’23, an Ohio State rower and Italian Olympian. “As a kid I tried a bunch of sports but never got passionate until I tried rowing,” Kushnir says, “Being on a boat on water always fascinated me.” Her athletic skills landed her in a boat on the Italian national team, competing on the international level. It was on that coast Kushnir discovered her first love, rowing. Kushnir’s first family is about 4,500 miles away in her hometown of Ravenna, Italy, near the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Being surrounded by people who truly love what they’re doing, they’ve become a second family.” “I found my passion here, I found my place here. Being a student, researching here, It’s helped me grow so much as a person. “I love the lake, I love the people here. “I want to make sure people can enjoy a beautiful place like Lake Erie without something like harmful algae blooms,” says Kushnir, a senior Ohio State rower and environmental science major who spent the past two summers at Stone Lab, which is part of the School of Environment and Natural Resources. ![]() And it’s at Stone Lab where she found her path toward becoming a researcher that will improve water quality for generations to come. It’s on the water where Alex finds peace. ![]() The mayflies are swarming as the sun begins to set on Lake Erie.Īlex Kushnir is paddling through the water in a kayak between Gibraltar Island and Put-In-Bay harbor, where Ohio State’s Stone Laboratory research center is based. Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement
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