Ivana Radovanovic ’22 jokes that if you ask her friends what she does for a living, they’ll say, “She hugs trees.”
There is, however, a bit of truth in that. After graduating as a Bachelor of Science in biology, Radovanovic works across Maine conducting environmental field sampling for Haley Ward, an engineering, environmental and surveying company. Her mission is to identify any potentially hazardous environmental issues with commercial properties.
“Every day is different from another, so every day is a favorite day,” says Radovanovic, who was born in Serbia and came to the United States specifically to attend Husson. “We go all over the state. You get to see a lot of towns that you wouldn’t see otherwise. You have to visit the places where you live so you can love it even more.”
Her projects range from asbestos surveys to environmental assessments to testing for PFAS, the pervasive “forever chemicals” found in everything from food packaging to frying pans to foul weather gear. Her employer, Bangor-based Haley Ward, with about 200 employees and offices in five states, holds a contract with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to examine farmlands that have potentially been impacted by PFAS-contaminated sludge.
Her job on any given day can be part field researcher, part sleuth, says her supervisor, Dennis Kingman. Recently, she’s been conducting environmental due diligence on a convenience store chain in advance of its possible sale.
“The site visit is one thing, but the regulatory research is also important,” Kingman says. “It’s not just looking at how the site is used now but also how it has been used in the past. It’s kind of a detective-like process.”
To do that, Radovanovic looks at aerial photos, topographical maps, and insurance maps. She has also learned to navigate municipal offices looking for tax records or code enforcements documentation associated with the sites she is assessing.
Kingman says he’s been thrilled with how quickly Radovanovic “devoured everything” she needed to be
successful at her job.
“The College of Science and Humanities at Husson has really done a good job in training their students. It’s one thing to go to college and learn. It’s another to go to college and learn the things that are important. Husson teaches students about the reality of what a job in environmental sciences actually is,” Kingman says.
For now, Radovanovic is an entry-level technician. That means that Haley Ward will give her a broad spectrum of experiences so that she will find the niche where she wants to focus, Kingman says.
And while she’s still more than 4,000 miles from her family in Belgrade, Serbia—a city with the same population as all of Maine—Radovanovic says she feels at home in her adopted state.
“I enjoy Maine,” she says. “I love hiking and kayaking. I would say that now I’m a country girl with the heart of a city girl.”