Saving the Coast, One Basin at a Time: LSMSA Alum Returns to Share Her Journey in Coastal Science

As a student at LSMSA, Chatelain hoped to design zoo enclosures, an unconventional goal without a clear academic road map. She credits her teachers and counselor with supporting that ambition and helping her think critically about how to pursue it.

“My work service assignment at LSMSA was at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, which gave me a view of what scientists do and what working in a science lab is really like, instead of the idealized idea of ‘being a scientist’ I had in my head,” Chatelain said. “It helped me ask myself if a job, on a day-to-day level, was something I actually wanted to do, and that shaped how I thought about career options all through college and graduate school.”

That question guided Chatelain to Louisiana Tech University, where credits earned through Advanced Placement testing and dual-enrollment courses at LSMSA covered most of her general education requirements, allowing her to complete a degree in environmental science along with minors in biology and wildlife management. It was at Tech that she discovered an interest in soil science, which soon led her toward wetland restoration. She went on to earn a master’s degree in marine and environmental biology at Nicholls State University, completing her thesis on evaluating soil salinity on restored ridge habitats.

Chatelain’s first job as a technician at the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Plant Materials Center in Golden Meadow introduced her to the organization where she would eventually become a soil conservationist. There, she partnered with landowners and agricultural producers across Louisiana to adopt more sustainable land practices. Then, in 2024, she found what she calls her dream job, joining CPRA as a coastal resource scientist. There, she now works within the Planning and Research Division on the Atchafalaya Basin Program, managing project feasibility studies, design and implementation across the Atchafalaya River Basin.

Chatelain is currently developing a new master plan for the Atchafalaya Basin, the only actively land-building portion of Louisiana’s coastline. Unlike most coastal marshes, which are losing ground because they no longer receive river floodwaters, the Atchafalaya Basin faces the opposite challenge of managing an abundance of sediment. The new plan applies the same environmental and habitat modeling used in the statewide Coastal Master Plan, tailored to the basin’s unique geography.

Reflecting on her path, Chatelain shared a story about her grandmother, who described her graduate thesis work as though she were a hero setting out to save Louisiana’s coast. Even after Chatelain moved into agricultural conservation work, her grandmother never let go of that image.

“I decided I wanted to be a coastal resource scientist at CPRA so I could be the hero my grandmother already thought I was,” Chatelain said.

For current students considering a similar path, Chatelain’s advice is simple: stay open to change.

“Explore the opportunities that come to you, even if you think you already know what you want to do,” she said. “It’s okay to change your mind. Even if you try something and decide it isn’t for you, it’s never a waste of time, because it taught you something about what you do and don’t want. And if it changes your whole path forward, you’ve found a new passion you might never have discovered otherwise.”

Chatelain also encouraged students not to mistake being good at something for wanting to do it.

“LSMSA students already know they’re high-achieving and good at many things,” she said. “So instead of just finding what you’re good at, focus on finding what you actually want to do and enjoy doing.”

We are grateful to Kristen Chatelain for returning to LSMSA to share her journey with current students and are proud of the work she continues to do restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast.

LSMSA is a tuition-free, public residential high school serving high-achieving sophomores, juniors, and seniors from across Louisiana. Financial assistance is available to ensure access to its 43-year tradition of a rigorous, college-level living and learning experience.

Learn more at LSMSA.edu.