MEET COSAM GRADUATION MARSHAL
AUSTIN BUSH
Austin Bush represented the College of Sciences and Mathematics at the fall 2015 graduation ceremony . Student marshals are selected by an awards committee from each college . To be considered , students must have completed a minimum of four semesters at Auburn University with a scholastic average of 3.40 ( graduating cum laude ) or higher and possess qualities of leadership , citizenship , character , and promise of professional ability .
Austin Bush , geography ’ 15 , had set out to become a dentist when he began his academic journey at Auburn University .
“ When I finished up with high school , I looked at a handful of different colleges , but really liked the ‘ family ’ feel of Auburn ,” said Bush , a Hunstville , Alabama , native .
“ My first year at Auburn , I was a pre-dental student . When I got into my first year of basic chemistry and biology classes , I quickly realized that I did not like dentistry or medicine , for that matter .”
Bush temporarily changed his major to business until he found what he was truly passionate about , geography .
After taking a global geography course on a whim , he found the material fascinating and began to talk with a professor about changing his major . Two weeks later , he was an official geography major in the Department of Geosciences .
“ For the first semester or two , I took classes and got to know my professor at the time , Dr . Yingru Li ,” said Bush . “ As I started to meet with her more to talk about class topics or geography as a discipline , she made the offer for me to work with her on a research project . The research involved socioeconomic issues in impoverished counties in Alabama .”
As a part of the research , Bush went to elementary schools around the state conducting surveys and studying the human and cultural aspects of geography such as income and cultural inequalities .
“ That gave me my first experience with doing research , and I really got hooked on geography as a discipline ,” said Bush . “ Dr . Li was really the reason why I went into geography and got involved in the research aspect of it . Shortly after , Dr . Li left the university , and I began working with Chandana Mitra .”
Mitra , an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences , assigned Bush a project for the semester during her climatology class .
“ Dr . Mitra wanted a graduate student , a PhD student , and me to put our heads together and work on a project that would be paper worthy ,” said Bush . “ We ended up deciding to look at the urban heat island effect that is present in Auburn , meaning the inner city , with more concrete and asphalt , is typically a lot warmer than rural areas . One of Dr . Mitra ’ s former students actually did his thesis regarding the urban heat island effect in Auburn , so Dr . Mitra wanted us to continue on with that and see what else we could get out of that concept .”
Bush and his team placed temperature-recording devices that logged information such as precipitation and humidity in various locations throughout Auburn and Opelika . After two weeks , the team looked at the data and compared their findings to what is already known about the urban heat island effect .
“ The results we got back were significant enough to show that there is an urban heat island effect present , however , you can ’ t directly compare against two different cities ,” said Bush .
Bush is currently continuing his research with Mitra as a graduate student in the Department of Geosciences and encourages students of all majors to work with a professor and get involved in an area of research .
“ Research is a great way to really find out what your discipline is all about and is a great experience to have whether you pursue it or not ,” said Bush . “ It ’ s definitely a great experience for all students to have , regardless of your major .”
When asked what tips he would give to other students , Bush says the two key components of a successful academic career are getting enough sleep and getting to know your instructors .
“ Getting to know your professors is very important ,” said Bush . “ That ’ s one of the main reasons why I chose to continue with my master ’ s here at Auburn . As an undergraduate student , I formed relationships with my professors , and now going into graduate school , I can continue to build upon those relationships and develop a strong professional and social network too . I feel like a lot of my professors are my friends .”
Bush ’ s grandfather , an Auburn graduate , was in attendance for the fall 2015 graduation ceremony where Bush was the COSAM graduation marshal .
“ My entire family was elated when they found out I was the graduation marshal for the college , but it really meant the world to my grandfather ,” said Bush . “ I think it meant the most to him out of everyone in my family . It was a huge honor to be selected .”
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