BGSU alumna selected for elite graduate research fellowship

Savanna Brown ’20 credits time at BGSU for setting strong research foundation

A Bowling Green State University alumna is in elite company after recently being selected for a prestigious fellowship by the National Science Foundation.

Savanna Brown ’20 was among the recipients of the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship program, which recognizes outstanding students pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Brown, a Cleveland-area native, was one of only 19 recipients in her field of evolutionary biology, and her selection will provide three years of support over a five-year period.

As the first of her family to graduate from college, Brown made invaluable connections at BGSU that helped her set a course for a career in science.

“I’m a first-generation college student, so navigating undergrad was a challenge because I didn’t have a lot of examples in my life of what that looked like,” Brown said. “I certainly didn’t have an understanding of graduate school, but through some of my BGSU professors, I pursued a lot of external opportunities to help my education, and networking and working with Ph.D. students in the labs was so valuable to me.

“All of that really set a foundation for me to start a Ph.D.”

Now pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Connecticut, Brown used her time at BGSU to immerse herself in science, learning with and from faculty at the University that she said made a major difference for her.

Brown’s primary research interest within evolutionary biology is the study of insects, which she developed largely by learning laboratory science as an undergraduate at BGSU.

Beyond earning a degree and graduating with significant scientific credentials, though, Brown said choosing BGSU gave her a comprehensive college experience that allowed her to pursue interests outside of her major.

“It was close to home, but what I really liked is that BGSU has a strong College of Arts and Sciences, which was important because I also love the arts, too,” Brown said. “I studied Spanish at BGSU and I was also the co-founder of an a cappella group, so I was really excited to be able to continue my other passions outside of science while still getting a really strong science education.”

At the recommendation of former BGSU biological sciences professor Dr. Shannon Pelini, Brown was accepted for the Harvard Forest research program and selected as a Princeton Scholar for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, both of which provided critical research experience prior to her graduation day.

In faculty members like Pelini, Brown said she also saw high-level science in practice and knew she was on the right path for her.

“I was in Dr. Shannon Pelini’s class, and she was just a shining example of everything I wanted to be,” Brown said. “She was very charismatic and down to Earth, but also really effective at teaching concepts and why science was important.”

Now a highly recognized doctoral student, Brown said she looks back fondly on her time at BGSU as a formational experience.

As she pursues a career in science, Brown said she earned the best of all worlds by choosing BGSU for undergraduate education.

“That decision worked out super well for me,” she said. “I was doing this challenging STEM degree, but I was also doing a cappella and I had theater at BGSU, all of which I really loved and do not think I would have gotten at another place.”