For many of his formative years, Isaac Breedlove ’21 had two higher education dreams: attend the University of Texas and study meteorology.

As fate would have it, he graduated from Texas A&M University instead with an environmental geosciences degree in May of this year, and today he’s grateful that his childhood plans didn’t work out.

Staying Flexible

“My whole family grew up as Longhorns,” Breedlove said. “My parents both went to the University of Texas and met there, and my sister graduated from UT Austin in 2020. So, I grew up wanting to go to UT, but I also grew up wanting to study meteorology.” 

As a high school student, he applied to Texas A&M and the University of Oklahoma, because he knew he wanted to stay in the region and study meteorology. His senior year, he received a Houston Livestock and Rodeo Scholarship to be applied to a Texas public university, and that cemented his decision to attend Texas A&M.

As he began earning his degree at Texas A&M in 2017, he had his sights set on meteorology.

“I chose meteorology because I dreamed of becoming a storm chaser for years,” Breedlove said. “I ended up switching my major, at the end of my sophomore year, to environmental geosciences. I was still able to minor in meteorology and graduate on time.”

Environmental geosciences is an interdisciplinary major that offers students a lot of flexibility, and includes course content drawn from meteorology, geology, oceanography, and physical geography. 

“Already having a significant amount of knowledge of meteorology, being able to use that knowledge in other classes, and bringing that knowledge into oceanography or geology perspectives has been really beneficial and exciting,” he explained. “That has helped me connect so many physical sciences aspects of the geosciences.”

Memorable Moments In Aggieland

Breedlove’s four years at Texas A&M were full of extraordinary experiences, he said.

“At the beginning of my junior year, one of my professors reached out to me about conducting undergraduate research,” he recalled. “That was such a blessing and really exciting to be able to work with Dr. Casellas-Connors and be able to assist with his research. I was able to become more involved in the research side of academics and gain knowledge that I would not have gained in a regular lecture. It also helped me build networking connections and skills with faculty.” 

His undergraduate research work involved analyzing deer in the northeast U.S., specifically in Massachusetts and New York.

“I studied and conducted survey analyses on how the populations of those states felt about the deer population rising,” he said. “We also analyzed the effects of urbanization and how that’s affected the deer’s habitat, as well as humans’ lifestyles.” 

“Dr. Casellas-Connors reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to do research was very impactful.”

Learning about environmental policy and planning in the course Issues in Environmental Quality also left an impression on Breedlove.

“That course, along with Science and Politics of Global Climate Change, were great policy classes that I most likely wouldn’t have taken in Meteorology, and those allowed me to become even more knowledgeable about the social aspects of our science,” he said.

Since graduating in May, Breedlove is now pursuing a career in environmental consulting or regulation.

Advice For Incoming Students

One piece of wisdom from his mother that Breedlove wishes he would have taken to heart sooner is to ask for help. 

“My mom taught me this: it’s so important to know that it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to not know,” he said. “The professors and teaching assistants are willing to help. They’re not going to give you the answers, but if you ask for help and are willing to think critically, they’ll be willing to help you.”

Participating in student organizations also made all the difference in his undergraduate career, he reflected.

“One thing that really impacted me was getting involved, and I really encourage younger geoscientists to do that,” he said. “I was a part of the Texas A&M Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (TAMSCAMS), Wine to Water, a community emergency response team, and outside of the major I also got involved with intramurals, my church, and Big Event – and those were all important supports and stress relief.”

Judy Nunez, College of Geosciences director of recruitment, was also a huge source of support and encouragement, he said.

“Being in the Wine to Water first year seminar with Judy Nunez was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had at Texas A&M,” he recalled. “Learning about the global water crisis and then getting to go to Costa Rica that spring, that was so impactful. She also helped me decide what to switch my major to, and that was such a blessing as well.”

By Leslie Lee