I am currently a Senior at Hamline University and majoring in Biology.  I have taken cell biology, field biology, ecology and evolution, plant and animal physiology, genetics, invertebrate biology, and animal behavior. I have finished one semester of calculus, a statistics course, one semester of physics, two semesters of general chemistry, and two semesters of organic chemistry.  After I finish my undergraduate education I plan on going to graduate school for entomology, and upon graduating, possibly work for the DNR or the PCA.

In the summer of 2008 I took an aquatic entomology class and learned that I have no problem getting waist-deep in a bug-filled stream.  This class required taxonomic identification of insects, often down to the family, genus, and species levels, using a dichotomous key.  I really enjoyed being out in the field, and also found the identification process to be quite fascinating.  Taking this class taught me about aquatic invertebrates and also piqued my interest.  I would love to learn more and have the chance to conduct more field work.   I find aquatic insects to be extremely interesting, especially as monitors of ecosystem health.  I also find their habits and life cycles to be quite fascinating. 

That same summer I took an animal telemetry class and a coastal ecology class at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology through the University of Oregon. 

The next summer I took a field ornithology class at the Itasca Biological Field Station. I woke up around 4 am twice a week for five weeks to help set up mist nets and conduct a breeding bird survey of a boggy, buggy, muddy transected area of the park.   

During the spring of 2011 I worked at Trans-Mississippi Biological Supply Company.  I helped take care of a variety of organisms including crayfish, beetles, and macro invertebrates.  I also assisted in packaging orders of live organisms.  My skills at identifying aquatic organisms were quite helpful in creating pond life kits. 

From August, 2009 to May, 2011 I volunteered in the Science Museum’s Mississippi River Gallery as part of the aquatic invertebrate program.  I interacted with visitors of all ages, and loved showing off critters that were creepy to some visitors and cute to others.  I especially liked explaining what types of bugs I had out, what they ate, and what they did.  For example, I would teach visitors that some aquatic invertebrates are good indicators of water quality and ecosystem health. 

I worked at Hamline University from February 2010 to December 2010 as the greenhouse caretaker, where I monitored the health of the plants, watered them, and prepared plants for biology classes.    Since 2007 I have worked in shoe stores as a sales clerk.   The past two summers I sold shoes from a booth at the Minnesota State Fair and especially liked finding a customer the perfect pair of shoes. 

Sincerely,

Mara Greenebaum