In partnership with the United Nations Association, the U.S. Department of State has selected Jackson Dougan (’13) from more than 600 applicants as the 2014 U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations.
The Youth Observer role is part of the State Department's efforts to increase youth interest and participation in international relations. As the Observer, Dougan will attend events surrounding the 69th UN General Assembly in New York, interact with youth representatives from other nations, and participate in other public activities.
The U.S. Youth Observer program represents an effort to empower young voices on the global stage. Subsequent to his time in New York, Dougan will travel to speak to UNA-USA Chapters and youth audiences around the country as well as blog, tweet, and discuss his experiences with the media and public. He will also advise on potential future youth roles at the UN.
“My generation is inheriting a world of global challenges that are almost as great as the opportunities before us,” said Dougan. “As the U.S. Youth Observer to the UN, I will have a chance to relate the hopes and expectations of my peers who are intensely concerned about the future of our world. In my new role, I am eager to empower youth and elevate their voices.”
After graduating with honors from Oregon State this past spring, Dougan completed post-baccalaureate research at the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin this summer.
While an undergraduate Dougan accumulated extensive research experience. He was named a Fellow for the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) where he studied dissolved Organic Carbon chemistry of streams expanding into the Willamette Basin.
Dougan gained considerable experience as a Visiting Research Scholar at The University of Auckland in New Zealand where he worked on integrating techniques from predictive modeling, geographic information science and biogeography to map the temporal and spatial distributions of European bats. The research will facilitate informed management decisions from ecologists and conservationists across Europe. He used this work to complete his undergraduate thesis.
At OSU, Dougan was a research assistant in biogeochemistry and hydrology. His research with the US Environmental Protection Agency and OSU focused on better understanding the intricacies and processes of translatory flow—which refers to the vertical transport and displacement of water through soil from season to season—at the atomic level.
With governmental and academic mentorship, Dougan produced publishable findings that categorize this process and lay the foundation for future study. Understanding how ecosystems utilize, store and recycle water is critical to the future environmental and societal sustenance of the planet.
Dougan also conducted research in climate change biology and terrestrial ecology with the US Environmental Protection Agency and explored biogeochemistry and forestry with H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Blue River Oregon.
As a student, Dougan received many scholarships and awards recognizing his excellence, including the Waldo Cummings Outstanding Student Award, OSU’s Diversity Achievement Award, Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Nominee, a University Scholar and Phi Lambda Upsilon Award for excellence in Chemistry among others.
To enhance his international research and travels, Dougan speaks Spanish, French, and Hebrew to various degrees.
Related stories:
Read the United Nations Association’s press release.
Read the story about Jackson Dougan in the Oregonian.
(Video) Jackson Dougal at the Social Good Summit
