Chad Hammerschmidt

I am thrilled to be here and to accept the Rada Distinguished Alumni Award. I thank the Alumni Association for my selection, and I am grateful to Jane and Ron Rada for endowing this award and the associated academic scholarship, which will be presented to a UW-L biology major this weekend. This award has provided an occasion to bring together many people who are important in my life—family, friends, and UW-La Crosse faculty—and I am grateful that they are here to make this day special.

One person, in particular, has had a tremendous influence on the direction of my life, chosen career path, and scientific pursuit. That person also is one of the namesakes of this award, Professor Ron Rada, which makes today even more special personally. I met Ron in April of 1995, when I knocked on his office door because I was bored with the pre-med track that I was following. My visit to Dr. Rada’s office was unannounced, and although he was noticeably occupied with many things when I entered his office, he dropped everything that he was doing and talked with me for more than two hours that afternoon. We discussed what I was interested in, the studies that he was conducting on mercury in Wisconsin lakes, and about environmental science, in general. I was struck by his passion for environmental research and genuine interest that he showed in my thoughts and ambitions. Before I left Dr. Rada’s office that day, I had accepted a summer research position in the trace-metals lab of the River Studies Center, decided to take a limnology course that summer at Pigeon Lake Field Station with Dr. Tom Claflin, changed my major emphasis to Aquatic Sciences, and had Ron become my new academic advisor. Obviously, I was very impressed, and I knew, within a very short time, that I wanted to “grow up” to be like Dr. Rada—I wanted to have a similar positive influence and provide comparable opportunities to other young minds, and contribute scientifically to tangible environmental issues, such as mercury contamination. Hence, becoming a professor has been a major goal, and my continued investigations of mercury in the environment are, at the least, an outlet for my scientific curiosity of the natural world. Acceptance of this award is certainly the highlight of my young career, but, most importantly, it is motivation to continue making the world a better place, and I thank you, Ron and Jane, for being role models to all of us.

In addition to being a seminal moment for my career, the day that I met Ron turned out to be a fateful one with regard to my personal life. If I had not taken that summer limnology course in 1995, I would not have been a teaching assistant for the same course at Pigeon Lake in July of 1997, which was where and when I met, and fell in love with, Katie Mayer, who also is a UW-La Crosse alum and has since been my wife of almost eight years. Personal accomplishments are not made individually, and there is no way that I would have had the strength or ability to accomplish what I have without the support and love of my wife. Thank you, Katie, for moving all over the country in pursuit of my dreams, for believing in me when I don’t, for being strong during the many months I have to travel in the name of science, and, most importantly, for putting many of your own career goals on hold to raise our family. There is no greater responsibility than the one we have to our children, and there is no responsibility more challenging than rearing them. I am fortunate to have a wife that agrees, at least on this subject. Katie, the honor of distinguished alumnus is as much yours as it is mine.

Lastly, there are many people other than Ron and Katie who have had a major influence on my life. My parents, Lyle and Pat, both of whom are retired educators, provided the nature and nurture, and proudly, are here today. Additionally, I am very grateful to 1) Jim Wiener, who taught me how to write scientifically during Saturday morning tutorials at his home; 2) my biology master’s degree advisor at UW-L, Mark Sandheinrich, who graciously presented my award today; and 3) Bill Fitzgerald, my Ph.D. advisor in chemical oceanography at the University of Connecticut. I am fortunate to have learned—and continue to learn—a great deal about science, teaching, and life from each of these men, and I’m lucky to count them among my closest colleagues and friends. Moreover, and finally, I thank my other family members, specifically Ryan and Kristen, my siblings, and Paul and Colleen Mayer, my in-laws—each of whom have contributed to making my upbringing and family the best a person could ever hope to have.