South Kingstown College Student Comes Home To Chase A Dream

NARRAGANSETT, RI — Contrary to the popular aphorism, you can go home again, and it can be exactly where you want to be.

At least, that is the case for South Kingstown native Matthew Dunn, a doctoral student in the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) oceanography program.

Dunn grew up barely a mile from URI’s Kingston campus, and after graduating from South Kingstown High School, sought to broaden his perspective beyond his backyard, earning a bachelor’s degree in marine science at the University of Delaware.

For Dunn, returning home is about pursuing a childhood dream to become a marine scientist and to do so in the place where he discovered his love for the ocean.

“The first beach I ever went to was at Narragansett Bay Campus, because it was safe for little kids. We were a beach family,” Dunn said of his parents and two younger siblings. “And I’ve always had a fascination with sea life, the coastline, waves.”

A chemical oceanographer, Dunn is studying pollutants from industry and manufacturing that can endanger people and the environment. Many of these pollutants, Dunn said, were unknown when they were in wide use decades ago.

His work is part of a federally funded project called Sources, Transport, Exposure and Effects of polyfluroalkyl substances (STEEP). STEEP looks for and studies those substances found in carpet, automotive parts and other consumer products because they often find their way into drinking water, become airborne and eventually enter the food supply.

Dunn has wanted to do this type of work since his teenage years, and now gets to come home to Kingston to realize that dream. By the time he was in middle school, Dunn knew he wanted to attend graduate school to become an oceanographer.

“GSO (URI's graduate school oceanography program) is such a renowned school,” he said. “Why go to Hawaii or Florida to study, when URI is one of the best schools for oceanography?”

Dunn appreciates the opportunities to work with students, faculty and experts in a community he has known his entire life. He believes the connections he's making now will help him become a better scientist.

“The interdisciplinary work can only increase my skills and the opportunities for publishing, which in the long run makes you a better scientist, more well-rounded,” Dunn said.

He also believes in sharing his Rhode Island pride and urges all in the state to appreciate the ocean and to take care of it.

“We live in the Ocean State. The ocean has done something for you, whether you own a seafood restaurant, know a fisherman, are in a business that relies on the marine industry," Dunn said.

Photo by: URI photo/Ayla Fox