Environmental Science and Policy graduate Sharon Dutton delivered the Wilmington University 2018 Commencement Speech in May after being selected in a competitive process that took into account high academic achievements and service to the community.
WilmU’s Board of Trustees member Dr. Thomas Shaw introduced her, calling Sutton “a trailblazer for Science at Wilmington University.”
It was an apt description. During her time as a student, Dutton was awarded a NASA Space Grant summer research internship. She was tasked with using GIS mapping technology to establish tools for evaluating the percentage of coral reef cover in the Florida Keys, then created hundreds of maps and gained valuable experience using GIS technology. WilmU Science Chair Dr. Milton Muldrow Jr. supervised these findings, and the cumulative research was presented recently at the Delmarva GIS Conference at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.
“Sharon was an exemplary student and has a promising future in science,” says Dr. Muldrew. “I’m proud to have had our first Environmental Science and Policy graduate become a much-deserved commencement speaker.”
Before she graduated, Dutton accepted an offer to become an environmental technician at Formosa Plastics Corporation, which is headquartered in Livingston, New Jersey.
—Linda Muldrew