Headshot of Kyle Beem

Kyle Beem ’19

Environmental Science Environmental Studies

Why UNE

A big thing for me coming to UNE is the small class size — all of my classes have less than thirty people — so you get really close with [people in] your major and you have a lot of time with teachers. I think it's really positive that you can meet with your professor, they actually know your name, and they take the time to help you to get better.

Experiential Learning

Last semester, I took Avian Ecology with Noah Perlut, and we got to have hands-on learning experiences with birds that are residents and non-residents within Southern Maine. We got to mis-net the birds, catch them, band them, and see where they end up all across the United States and in different countries. I’m a hands-on learner, so any kind of outside experience or in-the-field experience is beneficial for me personally, but just getting out there and doing the research with someone as dedicated as Noah is incredible. I think getting that experience has really helped me so now if I want to do research after school, I can just do that.

Global Opportunities

I studied abroad on UNE’s Tangier campus for a semester. Tangier was incredible. I mean, you get to live in Africa for four months, and you get many opportunities to travel to many different places. [The experience] opened my eyes up to a lot of different cultures. The school put on trips to Rabat, Chefchaouen, and more. We went to Marrakesh and the Sahara Desert. Apart from those, I also traveled to Madrid and Seville in Spain then later to Amsterdam.