Valerie Hall
Valerie Hall (GRS’84) of Nantucket, Mass., writes that after a 35-year career teaching middle and high school science—during which she completed her master’s degree in marine biology from the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP)—she retired from the Nantucket Public Schools in 2004. One of the highlights of her career was the institution of a marine program at Nantucket High School. Two years after retirement, Valerie began a doctoral program at the School for Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and in May 2014, she received her PhD in marine science and technology, with a dissertation focusing on the reproductive biology and population dynamics of the bay scallop, which is fished commercially on Nantucket. She writes, “My husband, Robert Hall, retired in 2001 from a career as a high school science, electronics, and computer teacher. We have lived on Nantucket for 38 years. We have two children, Emily (age 28) and Julie (age 26), and one granddaughter, Avia (age 4). In addition to continuing my bay scallop research, I am a volunteer caregiver at the local animal shelter, I sing in a women’s chorus and in my church choir, and I volunteer in various other capacities in my church.”
From the Winter-Spring 2015 issue.