The Core of the Matter
Growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia, Hailey Cooke ’25 practically lived on the water. At Mary Washington, she waded into what lies beneath.
A geography major who earned a GIS certificate, she spent many mornings immersed – sometimes up to her knees – in the mud at the Crow’s Nest nature preserve. The thick cylinders of sediment she’d core from the saturated earth tell a story about the area’s history of logging and help shed light on the future of forestry.
Under the guidance of her mentor, Professor of Geography Jackie Gallagher, Cooke tucked the samples into a cooler and brought them back to the labs at UMW’s Jepson Science Center to probe them, one murky layer at a time, for pollen grains preserved for thousands of years.
Drawn to Mary Washington for the opportunity to dazzle onstage, she joined the Performing Arts Club, worked at Dodd Auditorium and showcased her research at the Summer Science Institute. She created, ran and revved up engagement in the Department of Geography’s Instagram account. And she interned with Tappahannock’s Three Rivers Soil & Water Conservation District, which focuses on watersheds that contribute to the Chesapeake Bay.
“I came to Mary Washington for dance, but I fell in love with everything else,” said Cooke, who discovered a passion for environmental outreach, using communication to create connections.
Now assistant coordinator for the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts’ Virginia Conservation Assistance Program, she helps run its efforts to reimburse landowners who employ practices to mitigate stormwater runoff.
“I feel like conservation is seen as non-human, and I want to be that bridge,” Cooke said. “I’m trying to bring care back to the people who live in those environments.”
