History, Biology, and Whales

What can you do with a History degree from Gustavus? The answers are varied and interesting!

Gustavus alum, Nadine Lysiak, on a research cruise.
Nadine Lysiak on a research cruise.

For example, Nadine Lysiak ’03, majored in Biology and History (with Honors) and went on to earn an MA and PhD in Marine Biology from Boston University (’07, ’09). Her studies led to an ongoing research and teaching career in marine biology, with a focus on the migration and feeding history of whales, for which she studies baleen samples, some of them quite old. Currently a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a faculty member in the Marine Studies Consortium of Greater Boston—and previously a researcher at the renowned Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a member of the Trumble Laboratory at Baylor University—Dr. Lysiak’s work has taken her to destinations around the globe, including research cruises on the high seas.

Nadine Lysiak with Gustavus History Professor Greg Kaster
In August, Nadine and Prof. Greg Kaster of the Gustavus History Department caught up over lunch in Minneapolis during one of her return trips to Minnesota.

Dr. Lysiak exemplifies how through a Gustavus education in the liberal arts one can combine science and the humanities first on campus and then beyond the Hill in a productive and rewarding career.

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Greg Kaster
Profesor of History


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