On humid 2025 summer mornings in Wake County, small groups of NC State students would travel out into the wilderness to kneel beside narrow creeks to carefully lower sensors into the quiet water that contains a myriad of information that helps ecologists paint a clearer picture of the health of North Carolina’s waterways.

This idea is at the heart of the Water Assessment Summer Experience, an intensive, eight-week undergraduate research program housed within NC State’s Environmental Technology and Management (ETM) program in the College of Natural Resources. The program was first piloted on a small scale in 2022, and, now with the help of a crowdfunding campaign, is anticipated to return in 2026 as a larger, recurring summer experience. 

For Dr. Angela Allen, the faculty lead behind the program, the idea sprouted directly from working with her students through the Environmental Resources Water Assessment Training Program (ERWATP). Through Allen’s supervision, she received student feedback that enlightened her as to the need for more programs where they could apply the skills learned in the lab directly out in the field.

“By working outside in real-world applied learning environments, students develop crucial technical and professional skills that could not be fully achieved through classroom instruction alone,” Allen said. 

Setting Up the Classroom

For Ashlyn Wray and Samantha Lewis, two of the program’s longest-participating students, those skills became the exact foundation of their career direction. Wray joined ERWATP after reaching out to Dr. Allen for a tangible experience, while Lewis was recommended for the program by her advisor.

“I wanted to get hands-on experience that allowed me to comprehend the complexity behind what environmental professionals actually do,” Wray said. “Which is part of why I’m now pursuing a career in environmental consulting.”

Similarly, Lewis said, “I did not expect to fall in love with water quality research, so much that I switched my major to environmental technology and management. I now plan on attending graduate school to further my interests in water chemistry and sanitation.”

A typical field day for Wray and Lewis begins long before they ever step into the water. Teams first meet in the lab to calibrate their equipment, check their sampling kits and plan out their routes. Then they head out to sites like Marsh Creek, which combines with Crabtree Creek to flow into the Neuse River.

“We record information on water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen,” Wray explained, with Lewis adding, “Ashlyn and I collected E. coli coliform samples monthly to conduct nutrient testing using nitrate strips, the same sort you would use to test the safety of your pool or fish tank.”

While the work could certainly be physically demanding and rather unpredictable at times due to factors like weather and long work days, Wray and Lewis concurred that their teammates were some of the biggest highs in this work, making otherwise hard days “an enjoyable and unforgettable experience.”

The data that Wray, Lewis and their team collects highlights week-to-week fluctuations in water quality that reveal the fragility of local ecosystems. Wray said, “It has taught me how easy it is to miss a potentially urgent environmental concern if consistent and careful monitoring is not being conducted.”

The Impact of Donors on Learning

To make this work possible, the program depends on resources like field equipment, transportation, lab supplies, guest experts and student-alumni support. Donor funding has the incredible ability to make Allen’s program into an indefinite, fully functioning research experience in the College of Natural Resources for years to come.

If fully funded, the 2026 pilot of the Water Assessment Summer Experience program will allow students to conduct regular monitoring, identify trends linked to natural disasters and tropical storms as well as share their findings through academic research presentations and professional community briefings. 

“This work generates usable datasets and timely, place-based information that can then be shared with community partners and stakeholders, contributing to ongoing watershed assessments and preservation efforts,” Allen said. “Investing in this work shows students that their academic potential is recognized. These experiences not only strengthen students’ academic engagement, but also prepare them for long-term success in graduate education and the workforce, demonstrating a meaningful return on investment in the next generation of environmental professionals.”

If a city’s freshwater sources become polluted, even minutely, it can lead to community or even statewide health risks such as disease-causing bacteria in drinking water, environmental damage to local fish and wildlife, higher economic costs due to expensive water treatment efforts or even landscape damage like flooding and erosion.

To close with emphasis on Lewis’ words, “Your support of this program pressures local advocacy organizations and government agencies to ensure that local environmental issues are consistently and efficiently addressed and resolved. Students learned to communicate clearly, collaborate with their peers and approach scientific challenges head-on. These are the qualities that turn students into leaders.”