Oceanography and economics student Lauren Damon hopes to use data-driven research to shape environmental policy
Lauren Damon
By Taylor Pedersen, CLA Student Writer - October 9, 2025
While most children in Bellingham, Washington, were spending their summers on the shore, Lauren Damon was already waist-deep in the saltwater, crabbing, shrimping, and hopping from island to island weren’t just weekend activities; they were her earliest lessons in how people live with, and depend on, the ocean.
“It just allowed me to be more involved in the ocean,” Damon recalled. “Not just standing on the beach, but actually experiencing it.”
Now an incoming senior in both the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) and School of Public Policy in the College of Liberal Arts, Damon has turned those early experiences into an ambitious double major in oceanography and economics. What began as a love for the water evolved into a fascination with how science and policy intersect; how data about tides and currents can inform decisions about fisheries, coastal development, and climate change mitigation.
“I didn’t want to be cornered into studying one species like in marine biology,” Damon explained. “Oceanography lets you look at the broader systems: waves, wind, tides. And then economics comes in when you ask, ‘Okay, if we know what’s happening, how do we make decisions about it?’”
That realization came early in her OSU career. An introductory microeconomics course caught her interest, helped along by a friendship that bloomed in the lecture hall. Soon after, a class in environmental economics and policy sealed the connection. “That was the course where I saw it click,” she said. “We talked about hazardous waste cleanups, non-market valuation, and how you put a dollar amount on the environment. It was exactly the intersection I wanted.”
Damon has since leaned fully into both disciplines. She served as president of the United for Oceanography Club and held leadership roles in the Economics Club, all while remaining active in her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. “AOII [pronounced ā-ō-pie] has really connected me to the community,” she said. “I’ve done park cleanups with the Corvallis Parks Department, organized service events, and built leadership skills. It’s taught me how to organize people and take charge. These are skills I’ll carry into my career.”
This past summer, Damon tested those skills during an internship with The Balmoral Group, an environmental consulting firm in Seattle. There, she worked alongside other interns to assess the company’s carbon emissions and recommend sustainability strategies. The hybrid schedule gave her a taste of both city-life professionalism and the realities of remote work. “I loved the balance,” she said. “One day I’d dress up, take the light rail downtown, and work face-to-face. Other days, I could roll out of bed and start in my PJs. It was the perfect mix.”
Her biggest project involved collecting utility data, surveying employees about commuting and sustainable practices, and quantifying the firm’s carbon footprint. The team then presented recommendations to the company’s sustainability council. “It was rewarding to know our work could actually shape the company’s environmental goals,” Damon said.
For Damon, the appeal of this kind of work lies in its tangibility. Policy, she admits, can sometimes feel abstract. But when applied to coastal communities, it becomes concrete. “Take erosion, for example,” she explained. “You look at the environmental factors causing it, then weigh the strategies to fix or slow it down. Each option has costs and benefits. Economics helps decide which is the best strategy. That’s where I see myself: helping communities make those decisions.”
Balancing two majors, multiple leadership roles, and internships hasn’t been without challenges. Time, she says, is her biggest struggle. “I want to do everything, and I don’t want to give less than my best,” she said. Her solution: an arsenal of calendars and to-do lists. “If it’s not written down, it’s not happening,” she laughed.
During summer and into fall term last year, Damon studied abroad via OSU Go at James Cook University in Townsville Australia. Focusing strictly on oceanography, Damon was considered a marine science student in one of the highest-ranked programs in the world, right on the Great Barrier Reef. She frequently used her advanced open water scuba certification, participating in many dives along the reef and around Australia.
Upon returning, she began working in the Coastal and Fluvial Sediments Dynamics lab under CEOAS Associate Professor Emily Eidam. While a lab member, Damon analyzed the concentration of the radioisotope lead-210 in ocean seafloor sediment from the north and south poles to determine how old the sediment is and how fast it's accumulating.
After she graduates this December, completing two majors in just over three years, Damon plans to step back before diving into her career. She’s heading to New Zealand on a working holiday visa, ready to balance travel with part-time work. “I’ve been going non-stop,” she said. “I want to take a moment to not do school, explore a bit, and then come back ready to lock in.”
Whether her future leads to the private sector, graduate school, or consulting work, Damon already has a vision for her dream role: analyzing environmental restoration projects and advising organizations on the best path forward. “I’d love to be the person who gets called in when there’s an issue, like erosion or restoration, and run the economic analysis of the options,” she said. “And then, years later, to check back and see if the recommendation actually made a difference. That would be really rewarding.”
From Bellingham’s tides to OSU’s labs and now toward a global horizon, Damon has found a way to blend her two worlds – waves and numbers, and science and policy. For her, the ocean isn’t just a place of childhood memory. It’s a future she’s determined to help shape.