Throughout the spring and summer, we'll be honoring our senior student-athletes with a "Senior Salute" series. Today's featured senior is Kendra Devereux, an environmental geoscience major from Finksburg, Maryland. Devereux is a member of the women's tennis team.

Q: Why did you choose to attend The College of Wooster?
A: I loved that Wooster has a small, tight-knit community while still providing an emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities. Also, I wanted the opportunity to play tennis at the collegiate level and felt that I would really fit in with the team here.

Q: What does it mean to you to be a Fighting Scot student-athlete?
A: For me, being a Fighting Scot student-athlete means being part of a fantastic community of individuals who all uphold the same values – hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm. It's amazing being part of a team that encourages and supports me both as an athlete and as a student. This community has had a significant part in making my college experience so enjoyable.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: Some of my favorite memories are filling Kauke Arch with snow, living in a service house with my teammates, staying in hotels with my teammates for away matches, and going on our annual spring break trip.

Q: What's the best part about being a student-athlete at The College of Wooster?
A: The best part about being a student-athlete is that my teammates are my best friends! The opportunity to spend so much time with my friends while playing a sport I love is really rewarding. Plus, my teammates are always there to support me off the court as well.

Q: What else were you involved with on campus besides your sport?
A: I was vice president of the Geology Club and lived in a service house partnered with Local Roots through the Wooster Volunteer Network.

Q: Which College of Wooster faculty or staff member has made the greatest impact on you and why?
A: Coach (Amy) Behrman has had a great impact on me throughout these past four years. Not only has she supported me on the court, but she has consistently encouraged me through my academics as well. She treats my teammates and I like family and has invited us all to her house every year for end-of-season dinners or holiday activities. She is the perfect example of how to build a supportive community of teammates and friends.

Q: What other people or resources impacted your Wooster experience in a positive way and how did these people/resources set you up to be successful at Wooster?
A: Other faculty members who have positively impacted my Wooster experience include all of the earth sciences professors. They make a true effort to get to know every single student in the department. I feel that I have formed great mentor-mentee relationships with every single one of them. My Independent Study advisor, Dr. Greg Wiles, has worked especially hard to encourage me through such a difficult semester to be working on an I.S. project.

Q: Tell us a bit about your Independent Study project?
A: I am using geographic information systems (GIS) and climate models to predict how groundwater recharge rates over the contiguous United States will change by the year 2099. A large part of my I.S. is using GIS to make high-resolution maps of water budget components, such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff. Predicting how our groundwater resources will shift in spatial availability over the 21st century due to climate change has many implications for resource management and climate adaptation.

Q: Tell us a bit about something cool you did as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: Over the summer of 2019, I worked in the College's geochemistry lab with two other students and Dr. (Meagen) Pollock studying volcanic rocks from Iceland. This research opportunity included a week-long trip to Iceland where we spent long days doing field work on beautiful remote volcanic ridges. We also got to go to San Francisco in December of 2019 to present our research at the American Geophysical Union Conference!

Q: Reflecting back on your time at Wooster, what is one piece of advice you would give your first-year (freshman) self?
A: I would tell myself to attend more club meetings and get involved in clubs earlier in my college career. I would also tell myself to further explore all of my interests by taking more classes for fun, rather than taking classes just to fulfill requirements. A liberal arts school is the perfect place to explore all of your interests.

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