Participants from the Southwestern branch of the ESA meeting in front of Boone Pickens Stadium. Photos By Andrew Chow.
Steve Reyna, Patricia Mullins, and Brendan Morris at the Insect Expo.
Landon Proctor, Patricia Mullins and Steve Reyna during the Undergraduate Linnaean Games.
Students Attend ESA '09, Graduate Linnaean Team Advance to National Meeting
May 5, 2009
Six undergraduate students recently attended the 57th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the ESA held in Stillwater, Oklahoma (Feb. 22-26). These ESA meetings provide an opportunity for Texas A&M University (TAMU) undergraduates to connect and network with professional entomologists, fellow students, and prospective employers. In addition to attending business meetings, symposia, and poster presentations, we were able to participate in the Insect Expo, a large outreach program presented by ESA to fifth graders to advance their knowledge of insects. The TAMU undergraduates were in charge of teaching hundreds of children about ant taxonomy. Students who attended were Amanda Ladigo, Brendan Morris, Carlos Tamez, Patricia Mullins, Steven Reyna, and Landon Proctor.
Undergraduate students attend the meetings to advance their searches for graduate school or employment, interact with possible future graduate advisors, and speak with people directly involved with the Entomological Society of America, such as the 2009 ESA President Dr. Marlin Rice. We greatly enjoyed having the chance to network with professors and professionals in Entomology and in the process, we established supportive contacts for future endeavors.
Each student was very excited to experience the opportunities for academic enrichment awaiting them in the form of talks and symposia. We attended the student papers and poster session and the Banquet and Awards session. One student, Patricia Mullins, presented a poster on the “Taxonomy, Phenology, and Biogeography of Texas Silphidae”. The students learned a lot from attending the poster sessions, symposia and particularly enjoyed the student oral competitions. We were able to volunteer our time at the meeting by assisting presenters with help in uploading talks to the computer and acting as moderators for some of the sessions. Attendees also participated in the student/ member mixer where contacts were made with many students with similar interests from other universities.
Four undergraduates participated in the Linnaean Games, a quiz-bowl style competition with questions stemming from every aspect of Entomology. Students were asked questions that ranged from relatively simple to questions so difficult that not a single person in the audience could answer. The team of Brendan Morris, Patricia Mullins, Landon Proctor, and Steven Reyna defeated the University of Texas at Tyler in the first round.
Sadly, the team was defeated by New Mexico State University in the next round of games. The TAMU graduate student team pulled through the final round to win advancement to the national competition in Indianapolis, Indiana for the 2009 annual meeting. The undergraduates have been defeated by New Mexico State University for two years in a row and have no intentions of losing again! The students are looking forward to the 2010 SWB meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
Overall, students gained a better understanding of research in Entomology and what may be in store for them as future professionals in Entomology. They also benefitted from networking with students participating and presenting their research at the meeting. According to most students, the greatest benefit stemming from attending the meeting was having the opportunity to make connections with future contacts for graduate school or employment.
All undergraduates represented Texas A&M University Entomology well in terms of their scholarship, enthusiasm, energy, and aspirations. Each student learned more about themselves and discovered just how diverse the field of Entomology is and how many opportunities are available to them upon graduation. After three days of making connections and gaining many valuable experiences, the Texas A&M students traveled back from Oklahoma, bringing with them expanded knowledge gained from their adventures at the meeting along with new information and ideas gained from presentations and symposia they attended.