1. GARRETT HESS
15 Price Street ● Sayreville, N.J. 08872 ● (732) 447 4109 ●​ gth18@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
EDUCATION
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Rutgers University​, New Brunswick, NJ May 2017
●​ Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources
Certificate Program: ​Environmental Geomatics
Website: ​ ​https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-hess-374235aa
GPA: 3.368​ out of 4.0
FIELD AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
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USDA APHIS PPQ PIS October 2015- 2016
Linden, NJ US Grade Level:​ 4
Hours per Week:
Part Time
Student Trainee (Plant Protection Inspection Assistant)
Supervisor: ​Elisandra Sanchez (​908 986 9204)
Email: ​Elisandra.Sanchez@usda.gov
Contact: Yes
● Sorted submissions of interceptions and distributed to the appropriate PPQ
Identification specialist.
● Assisted in forwarding specimens to the appropriate National Identifier.
● Prepared microscope slides and mounts.
● Updated and maintained applicable program databases as required.
● Ensured laboratory was maintained and orderly per policy and local protocol.
● Assisted PPQ Officers at the Plant Inspection Station with the inspection of
propagative plant materials and other miscellaneous shipments.
● Assisted PPQ Officers/technicians with field activities, surveys, etc.
● Generated and reviewed records/data, and prepared reports.
● Prepared plant materials and organism for inspection.
● Communicated with importers, brokers, stakeholders to assist in coordinating
PIS activities.
● Followed EEO/CR principles to value diversity.
● Demonstrated a commitment to and practiced safe work habits in accordance
with Safety and Health Guidelines.

2. ● Identified intercepted specimens for Botany, Entomology, and Pathology from
cargo containers.
Western Monmouth Utilities Authority January- June 2015
Manalapan, NJ US Grade​ ​Level:​N/A
​Hours per Week:
​12 Hours Part Time
Contact: Yes
Intern
Supervisor: ​Brian Valentino (​732​ 446​ 9300)
Email: ​bvalentino@wmua.manalapan.nj.us
● Assisted in Lab and Office work within the sewage plant.
● Performed different Water Quality Testing Parameters for the Biochemical
material from Secondary Clarifiers and Active Digester.
● Water Quality Testing Parameters performed were: Alkalinity; Volatile Acids
(Alkalinity: Volatility Ratios); total suspended solids; microbe identification.
● Interacted in meetings where a memo was generated as a result.
● Filed and categorized administrative data sources.
● Assisted with the comprehension and application of WinCam for uploading
sewage videos.
U.S. Geological Survey (BRD) July-August 2014
Fort Collins, CO US Grade Level:​N/A
​ Hours per Week:
​Full time
Assistant/Volunteer
Supervisor: ​Dean E. Biggins, PhD (​970 226 ​9467)
​Email:​bigginsd@usgs.gov
Contact: Yes
● Processed and handled White-Tailed Utah Prairie Dogs (​Cynomys leucurus​ )
● Collected samples from ​C. leucurus: hair; whiskers; blood samples; right hind
foot measurements; age; sex; fleas.
● Sedated and tagged ​C. leucurus:​ Isoflurane chamber was used to sedate WTUPD
(White Tailed Utah Prairie Dogs) where samples were collected and pit tags and
ear tags were recorded and given.
● Distributed vaccinate and placebo baits to test and monitor ​Yersinia pestis​ in
WTUPD.

3. N.J. Water Supply Authority Watershed Protection Division Program
Clinton, NJ US
September - December 2015
Grade Level: ​N/A
​Hours per Week:
​Part Time
Intern
Supervisor: ​Kathy Hale (908 685 315)
Email: ​​​Khale@raritanbasin.org​​
Contact: Yes
● Conducted baseline monitoring of different Watershed properties as part of the
Spruce Run Initiative.
● Assisted with completion of Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Version II:
Assessed streams based on the criteria from SVAPII (Including: Identification of
Non-Native Invasive Plant Species).
● Photographed and wrote different environmental descriptions of the property.
● Entered and Analyzed Excel Spread sheet data correlating with different
properties (conditions of properties).
● Assisted with updates to different maps within ArcMap through application of
GIS (Geographical Information Systems).
Rutgers University Chrysler Herbarium & Mycological Collection
January 2016-Present
Grade Level:​N/A
​Hours per Week:​12
Student Technician
Supervisor: ​Dr.Lena Struwe
Email: ​struwe@aesop.rutgers.edu
Contact: Yes
● Checked and changed taxonomic names of herbarium specimens in accordance
with APG III System (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III).

4. ● Moved old herbarium specimens into the APG III System which entailed
categorization of specimens by separating genera into individual folders and
sorting species alphabetically.
● Currently am coordinating research through usage of herbarium specimens of
FNWs (Federal Noxious Weeds) and ​evaluating invasive plant species history in
space and time in New Jersey.
Language Skills:
English & Spanish
Additional
Information: ​________________________________________
Skills:
● Statistics​: R and R studio
● GIS:​ ; ArcMap, Q-GIS; Imagine; Python
● Standard​: Microsoft Office and Google+
● Agricultural:​ AQAS; PCIT
● Watershed: ​SVAP II; WQI
● Herbarium:​ APG III; Mounting herbarium specimens
● Genetic:​ MEGA 6; Genetic Barcoding; PCR
● Identification:​ Agricultural plant and insect pests (PIS); Birds
Honors and Awards
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● Dean’s List: Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016
● Smokak Hoffman Karen Student Scholarship, May 2015
● Pell Grant, August 2013 and 2016
● Hasbrouck Forestry Scholarship, August 2016
● Marvin “Mac” Clark Scholarship - Freehold Soil Conservation Scholarship
● Rutgers’ Assistant Grant, July 2016
● Murray & Helen Buell Undergraduate Student Scholarship , May 2016

5. Class Projects
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Capstone Project: Effects of Phosphate Fertilizer on Lotic Sources- WQI Test, April 2015
● Completed a 12 page Lab report on the Effects of Phosphate fertilizer on a Lotic
Stream source in Manalapan, NJ.
● Tested six aquarium tanks were set up three of which were the control and the
other were the experimental group.
● Conducted testing for: pH; Dissolved oxygen; Biological oxygen demand;
Turbidity.
Status of Bald Eagles After DDT Use: Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, July 2015
● Researched data on the Kokanee Salmon (​Oncorhynchus nerka)
● Analyzed data by looking at the averages of temperature, number of peak in bald
eagle populations, and number of kokanee salmon.
● Ran statistical modeling to see if there was no relationship between the number
of bald eagles and kokanee salmon, and if temperatures influences migration in
eagles.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ​(​Adelges tsugae)​ in Pennsylvania Case Study, November 2015
● Determined the current eastern hemlock forest health in areas where the HWA
was present based on Quarantine data and Basal Area.
● Predicted the future spread of the HWA into uninfested Pennsylvania counties
through the use of ArcGIS with shapefiles: average daily minimum temperature,
average annual precipitation, elevation, and land cover type.
Ornithology Study on Accipitridae/Anatidae Species of Threatened and Non-Threatened
Birds
● Researched species that were threatened and not threatened of the South
American Continent.
● Leptodon forbesi, Geranospiza caerulescens, Mergus octosetaceus, Amazonetta
brasiliensis
● Presented findings of research conducted by scientist to suggest management
goals and criteria for threatened species: ​L. forbesi and M. octosetaceus.
Human-Tapeworm Evolutionary History Through Studying Food, May 2016
● Analyzed the relationship between tapeworms Taeniidae and hominids where
hominids were infected by tapeworms.
● Drafted outlines of several posters to be considered in the finding of my research.

6. ● Concluded that host switches occurred when hominids left Africa which was
supported by molecular data consisting of multi-loci of nuclear and
mitochondrial DNA. Guilds were examined which showed how the diversification
of tapeworms occurred with the migration of definitive hosts.
Phylogenetic Tree Analysis of Mislabeled ​Cyrtanthus elatus Greenhouse specimen
● Extracted DNA from ​Rhodophiala pratensis which was really ​Cyrtanthus elatus.
● Conducted PCR and Electrophoresis in order to find the best sample for
sequencing.
● Phylogenetic and DNA barcoding was conducted to create rbcL and ITS2
phylogenetic trees through application of MEGA6 software.
Stream Visual Assessment Report of Buell Brook and Side Streams, October 2015
● Assessed the Buell Brook and Side streams with the Rutgers Ecological Preserve.
● SVAP was used to document the Buell Brook stream and it’s side stream and were
related to land use, water quality, and habitat.
● Generated 8 page report detailing the conducted study/ evaluation of the Buell
brook and its side streams. Graphs and statistical data emphasized both streams
were in poor condition.
Forest Sampling Report of the Rutgers Eco Preserve, October 2015
● Collected data from a sample plot of the larger forest for an ongoing forest
inventory and management program at the Kilmer Woods section of the RUEP.
● Compared to the sampled plot with other forest stands.
● Data comprised of: DBH, Basal Area, Aspect, Slope.