Ava McQuain ’27 featured by Clean River Partners for community-based work study
McQuain is a studio art and biology double major at Carleton.
Ava McQuain ’27 was featured by long-time Carleton collaborator Clean River Partners in a piece titled, “Making Waves through Community-Based Work-Study.”
Meet Ava McQuain, a student at Carleton College who’s discovering her path while juggling the exciting — and sometimes challenging — adventures of college life. Thanks to her professor, who encouraged the class to join, Ava learned about Clean River Partners during a fun and impactful Watershed-Wide Cleanup event. That day opened her eyes to the amazing work happening to protect our environment and sparked her enthusiasm to dive deeper into local conservation efforts.
After that experience, a fellow student had the perfect suggestion: Ava should apply for a work-study position at Clean River Partners. She jumped at the chance! The role promised creativity and independence, which she highly values, and it was the perfect fit for her personal and professional interests.
In her role, Ava embarked on a project called “River Residents.” The goal was to create a social media campaign highlighting the diverse wildlife in the Cannon River Watershed. With her curiosity piqued, Ava dove into research, spending countless hours exploring the Minnesota Historical Society’s digital newspaper archive.