Jackson Keesling: Week 8 Recap

Well, it’s time to wrap it up. Somehow eight weeks have managed to fly by in what has truly felt like the blink of an eye. I’ve sorted through thousands of camera trap photos, spent dozens of hours collecting field data, digitized over 700 camera trap occurrences, written a scientific research paper, crafted a research poster, and developed a 20-minute presentation recapping everything my team has done. I learned more throughout this program than I could probably list. To kick-off our last week, we travelled to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and were lucky enough to meet with their freshwater systems research manager. We toured their facility and learned about the different ongoing research projects. I’m even more interested in the research field due to this trip and this summer research experience. I hope to eventually attend grad school for a master’s degree and maybe even a PhD someday. All I know for sure is that I have this program to thank for teaching me about what to expect in this field and providing a fantastic experience!