Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Major: Entomology graduate student
Anticipated Date of Graduation: December 2020
Why did you decide to come to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln?
The university has a great entomology department and faculty with interesting research opportunities.
What is your favorite thing about University of Nebraska–Lincoln?
East Campus, because of all the lovely gardens and outside areas to study or hang out in.
How has diversity and inclusive excellence played a role in your CASNR experience?
Services for Students with Disabilities helped me to have a more productive experience when I was an undergraduate at UNL, but I don't utilize them very much currently. Veva Cheney, the former director, helped me understand how people with disabilities can still be successful in an academic environment. Not many new students are aware of this resource, and it made a huge difference for me when I found out about it!
What is your favorite class you have taken so far and why?
I'm currently doing an independent study with Dr. Doug Golick called "Science Communication through Video" and I am creating videos to educate and also entertain. The end product will be a pilot episode with kind of a Muppets and Bill Nye mashup style. The episode focuses on medical entomology. I'm using puppets I make, songs and parodies for the videos. I asked Dr. Golick if he would be willing to supervise this independent study because after entering a video to the Entomological Society of America video contest (I'm a finalist!), I realized I very much enjoy science communication as long as I don't have to directly interact with the public too much.
What are your plans post-graduation?
I am looking into a Ph.D.
What’s life like outside of school?
I spend time with friends, draw, make puppets, play musical instruments and do genealogical research.