Graduate Student Spotlight: Shetu Akter

by Jerome Okojokwu-Idu, doctoral student in the School of Natural Resources

Shetu Akter is a first-year doctoral student of Natural Resource Sciences with a specialization in Climate Impact and Assessment at the School of Natural Resources – University of Nebraska. She hails from Sylhet in the southeast Asian country of Bangladesh, a city of about 500,000 people. The literacy level for women born in Bangladesh is around 70 percent. Shetu found fulfilment in STEM, shying away from art, commerce, and social sciences because she didn’t want to "memorize definitions," according to her.

With a distinction from her master's degree in Geography at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Shetu was offered a role as a lecturer by the same university. Having spent three years teaching at the university, she believes a PhD from UNL would help her grow and better deliver on the job at her alma mater.

How did you find out about UNL?

"A friend from my home country who resumed a semester earlier in the Chemistry Department here at the University of Nebraska informed me about the school. So, I went online and visited the website. It was user-friendly and had the necessary information I sought. I found a match for myself, then I sent an email to the department head. Today, the rest is history. That friend was quite instrumental."

Read the rest of the spotlight on the School of Natural Resources site.