What is your name? David S. De La Mater III
What is your hometown? Ballston Spa, New York
Where do you work? Duke University, in both the Nicholas School of the Environment and in the Department of Biology
What is your job title? Graduate Candidate; Graduate Teaching Assistant
Have you always wanted to earn a Ph.D.? Can you tell us about your journey to this career path? What do you hope is next?
Getting a Ph.D. was never a goal of mine, and I might say it still isn't. Rather, it is a necessary stepping stone towards my desired career. The trajectory I have ended up on was largely shaped by circumstance. When I graduated from high school in 2007, there were a few large scale forces converging which carried me along on a current, so to speak.
I'm from an area of upstate New York that was culturally, demographically and economically shaped by industry, and eventually post-industrial decline.
