My mentor for the McNair Program is Dr. Jennifer Smith. She is an associate professor in the biology department at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. As the head of the Long-term Behavioral Ecology of California Ground Squirrels Project, she has mentored many students over the course of 12 years at Mills College, the University of California- Davis, and the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. I am one of these students and have been doing research with Dr. Smith for about two years on the California ground squirrel study, where I have been involved in the field and the lab.
I first met Dr. Smith in my Ecology class during the fall of my junior year. She was outgoing, knowledgeable in ecology, loved animals, and cared about teaching her students. One day in my Ecology class, she explained that the Biology Department had an application for the Biology Research Scholars Program. This program allowed students to do paid summer research with a biology professor of their choice and present research in the Spring. I then asked about her research, where she told me that she was looking for students to do research for both the field during the summer and in the lab during the school year. I applied to the program, got in, and the rest is history.
Lab research
For two years, I have analyzed photos from 2020-2022 to observe the activity patterns of the animals in Briones Regional Park with Dr. Smith in the Spring of 2023. I collaborated with a PhD student at UC-Davis, who is now Dr. Chelsea Ortiz-Jimenez. She explained how to use the image organizer and tag editor software called digiKam to analyze the photos. Dr. Smith and Dr. Ortiz Jimenez have taught me how to use R, a programming language for statistical computing and data visualization, to analyze the data that was collected from the photos.
Field research
I traveled to California twice in the summers of 2023 and 2024 to observe the ecological behaviors of California ground squirrels. I worked closely with Dr. Smith and Dr. Sonja Wild, where they taught me how to be a field biology researcher. I learned how to write down observational data, how to call out observations, and how to safely handle animals. During these summers, I found my love as a biology researcher and found ways to continue my journey to become one after undergraduate school.
Funding
Dr. Smith is adamant about her research students receiving funding. Over the last couple of years, she helped me find scholarships, so I could be paid for research. Dr. Smith introduced the McNair Program that has funded me for the summer of 2024.
Conclusion
Throughout my journey in research, Dr. Smith has given me many opportunities that have helped me gain experience in biology research. I have collaborated with researchers across the country where I created strong relationships with people in the biology field. She has also helped me obtain funding through scholarships and programs. I am grateful for everything that Dr. Smith has offered me because it has helped me find my love for research and given me the tools to succeed in the field.
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