I earned a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 1994.  My favorite part of college was involvement in Biology Colloquium, a unique student-run class for undergraduates interested in studying biology.  The course facilitated academic as well as social opportunities, which included quarterly trips to Lake Itasca field  station.
 

While in college, I conducted three seasons of behavioral research on a captive group of Laysan ducks (Anas laysanensis) at Cedar Creek Natural History Area in Bethel, MN.  The Laysan duck is an endangered species endemic to Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Leeward Chain.  The population is being managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
 

Other research experience included a summer field course, studying bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) through the School for Field Studies in Beaufort, NC; an internship with the City of St. Paul, doing a natural resource inventory of a local park; and a summer research program, studying mating strategies in monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus).
 

I also earned a minor in Russian Language & Literature and traveled to Russia with a group called Volunteers for Peace, where we worked at a national park in the Ural Mountains.
 

climbing out of a "vertical cave"

building an inflatable katamaran to go rafting