Teaching science and telling stories
Amy Nicholson M.A. ’24 uses a theater background to bring science lessons to life at the Virginia Living Museum following graduation from W&M's Batten School & VIMS.
Is the ideal balance in life to teach science and tell stories? Amy Nicholson, a graduate of William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS, seems to think so. As an education associate at the Virginia Living Museum, she spends her working hours teaching the public about life in the commonwealth, from walk-in museum visitors to planned field trips and organized summer camps. “You have to be familiar with how to talk to a pre-K kid about a topic and how to talk to an 80-year-old about the same topic, which is difficult,” admits Nicholson, “but it's fun and challenging, so I like that part a lot.”
On the side, Nicholson has also led ghost tours in Williamsburg through U.S. Ghost Tours, which she first began while attending the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS. In fact, the tours turned out to be a unique opportunity to build community among graduate school peers. “October rolled around, and I offered a ghost tour to a bunch of people at VIMS,” she recounted. “Students from different years all came out, and it was cool to bring people from multiple cohorts together.”
As someone with a wide range of interests and abilities, Nicholson demonstrates that scientists can lean on a variety of skills and experiences to chart their own career paths.
An easy choice to attend the Batten School & VIMS
After growing up in Chicago, Nicholson attended Augustana College in western Illinois where she double majored in environmental studies and theater. During an undergraduate internship at Trap Pond State Park in Delaware, her supervisors repeatedly commented on how useful her theater background was for environmental education. “I felt like I had found this miracle of a path that was able to combine my love for science, nature and technical thinking with my love for being creative, telling stories and engaging audiences,” she said.
Another internship at a marine science camp in Connecticut confirmed her specific interest in marine science, so Nicholson began to research relevant graduate schools. “I knew I didn't want to go into academia after I graduated; I wanted to remain in outreach or education,” she said. “VIMS had literally just rolled out the M.A. program and I thought it would be perfect, because I could get the marine science foundation, but instead of a thesis I can do a project that more closely mirrors what I want to do as a career. It was a very easy choice for me once I got in, because it was my top choice.”
Curating community and creating a capstone project
Nicholson entered the M.A. program as half of that year’s two-person cohort, but their time at the Batten School & VIMS was not without community. “We were friends with all the M.A. students above us, and all the other M.S. and Ph.D. students, too. And you take a lot of the same classes,” she said, “We had a lot of fun study nights where we’d play trivia games to learn together, so it was great to bond over group study sessions which otherwise would have been stressful. It was honestly a great sense of community.”
Carl Friedrichs, professor at the Batten School & VIMS and associate director of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA), was another source of encouragement for Nicholson as her graduate advisor. “If you've ever spent time with Carl, you know he's everyone's number one cheerleader,” said Nicholson, who also had an assistantship with CBNERR-VA. “He was lovely, and full of ideas. Even when he sees me now, he's so incredibly supportive. Same with [CBNERR Education Coordinator Sarah Nuss Ph.D. ’24], who Carl roped in to help support my capstone project.”
Nicholson also cited the examples set by “all the VIMS [Marine Advisory Program (MAP)] educators, who were great mentors and leaders: Lisa Lawrence, Celia Cackowski, Bethany Smith; all of them were in the kinds of positions that I had always dreamed of being in, and they were really great at helping me out.”
Inspired by those role models, she developed a suite of marine science lesson plans for her capstone project, titled, “Accessibility and Inclusivity in Marine Science Education.” Working with the Virgina Science & Educator’s Alliance (VA-SEA) and MAP, Nicholson identified gaps in available education resources and subsequently created three lesson plans related to first grade life science, fifth grade marine geology and high school environmental justice. “It was very fulfilling to work with teachers and to workshop lessons and get their live feedback. And it was incredibly useful when applying for jobs, because I became intimately familiar with the Virginia [standards of learning],” Nicholson said.
Directly applying graduate school experiences
What started as a temporary fellowship at the Living Museum during her second year of graduate school serendipitously became a full-time job when a position became available just a few weeks before Nicholson's graduation. “I was so lucky,” she said. “The timing was impeccable, and now I’m an education associate who works to educate the public.”
Educational programming at the Museum varies by season. “Right now, schools are in session,” said Nicholson, describing the stretch between October and May, “so we’re doing field trips almost every day, from pre-K to college. I usually teach a few classes a day, and the rest of my time is spent doing office work, program prep and calling and coordinating with the schools.” During the summer months, she then manages half-day summer camps for pre-K students while generally helping with managing employees and volunteers to ensure smooth camp operations. Finally, during the unique period of late August to early October, when many schools are open but not yet sending classes on field trips, Nicholson and her peers offer educational safaris.
“It’s so much fun,” she said, “and what I learned at VIMS was so useful. Knowing about the local area in terms of the science, flora, fauna, climate issues; it’s been super helpful for now teaching about it at the Living Museum. VIMS obviously does great, applicable coastal science for the Chesapeake Bay.” Nicholson also credits graduate school for helping her to develop the organizational skills necessary to succeed in the professional world. “Here, where I'm balancing multiple projects at once, it’s very useful to have had the experience of multi-year projects where I had to meet milestones and stay mindful of my timeline.”
An enduring alma mater connection
One of the benefits of finding professional work nearby (the Living Museum is a mere twenty-minute drive from the Gloucester Point campus) is that Nicholson has been able to easily remain connected to her Batten School & VIMS friends and colleagues. “Because I’m in the area, I still see people around and they are still super kind to me and reach out all the time,” she said. In fact, this past year Nicholson and her roommates hosted a “Friendsgiving” dinner that welcomed both graduated and current students. “I think there was 20 people from our and other cohorts, which was great.”
When Nicholson talks to current graduate students, she tells them to remember that graduate school is only a short period of time, “so enjoy the little moments and take advantage of as many opportunities as you can. When I got more involved, I was much happier.” She also reminds Batten School & VIMS students that they belong to the broader W&M community. “My second semester I joined an improv group at William & Mary. My second year I was in a theater production. Those were the things that made me fulfilled and feel well-rounded as a human. The university has so many fun things that VIMS students might enjoy or be interested in.”
The passion for a well-rounded life, which flourished in graduate school, is something Nicholson continues today. In addition to educating young minds at the Living Museum, she may still be spotted in Williamsburg, leading terrified tour groups as she recounts some of her favorite ghost stories. Yet it is clear Nicholson’s own story has a happy ending, as she freely pursues her dual interests in science and storytelling, thanks to her formative experiences at the Batten School & VIMS.
This alumni profile was published in June, 2025.