I stood in the drizzle with a snowberry clearwing moth (Hemaris diffinis) perched on my thumb, its wings vibrating back and forth to warm up. I looked closely taking in this beautiful insect, and a moment later it rose into the air and flew off out of sight into the trees. I returned to my work, cleaning caterpillar frass, invigorated by that one breathtaking moment. I have always loved nature but it has been my volunteer work at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that has shown me how important it is to me. Working in the insectary or on the fauna survey I feel a sense of accomplishment as I learn more about the world around me and help others to do the same. So many people dislike insects because they haven't looked at them closely or learned about them. Having a better understanding of the natural world helps us appreciate it and want to protect it. The fauna survey opened my eyes to how beautiful and important insects are and lit a passion for entomology in me, but the more I learn about them the more worried I become. We are losing them so fast even in protected areas. If every person could have a moment of awe like the one I did with the snowberry clearwing, insects would have a much better future. I want to learn how to protect them and inspire others to do the same. Many members of my generation feel a sense of urgency to protect our planet. I am grateful that I have already decided how I will contribute to this massive effort and make a positive impact in the world. While I plan to do research and fieldwork in entomology, I also know the importance of communicating and sharing that research with the general public in a palatable way. This is why I chose to make a field guide for my school as my senior project in high school, and why I continue to do volunteer work in organizations that serve to educate the community about our natural world. The pandemic even allowed me to contribute in unexpected ways, such as making an insect scavenger hunt for the neighborhood children. I elected to attend a liberal arts institution so that I can get a more well-rounded education and, most importantly, learn the communication skills I will need to successfully share my passion. I look forward to finding more opportunities to learn and contribute. I especially look forward to helping others have their own moments of awe as they experience the wonder of insects for the very first time.

My dream is to become an entomologist. Even as a young girl I knew that observing living things takes patience. It requires time and stillness to learn the secrets of the tiny creatures that so fascinate me. My passion for them has allowed me to be patient in learning their ways. As my interest grew in high school I had to practice patience while I learned to photograph and identify the arthropods I found. I know it will require even more patience for me to learn the skills necessary to become a good entomologist. Last summer, I was grateful to be selected for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the Kellogg Biological Station in Michigan. After years of dreaming about it, I was finally going to get to learn how to do fieldwork. It was the best summer of my life so far, but it did require a new level of patience. I spent joyful hours crawling on the ground counting arthropods and observing their behaviors. One time I was so still that a mouse crawled into my pants! Less joyful but equally critical to success were the hours I spent on data entry to record my findings, and more hours learning R Studio to analyze those findings. Currently, I am patiently awaiting feedback from mentors to find out if those results are meaningful and publishable. Science takes years of patience and overcoming obstacles, but I am prepared to be patient to reach my goals. One day, I will have a Ph.D. next to my name.

I am objectively NOT a prima ballerina. My body is not made for ballet because I have naturally tight muscles and my eyes don't see space in three dimensions. But from an early age, I absolutely fell in love with the artistry and discipline of ballet. I will be forever grateful for the lessons it taught me. To persist after not getting a role I wanted. To keep perfecting and practicing to be able to pirouette or jeté just like all my classmates. To be patient, when it took me a little longer than everyone else to get my pointe shoes. I also loved the discipline of daily practice and I feel lucky to know that I can translate that to other areas of my life. Thanks to my great teachers, my classmates, and my parents, I learned to celebrate each little success and milestone and I use that knowledge in every aspect of my life. Those lessons have kept me from being discouraged in my difficult classes in college and given me patience with my research. Whenever I feel like I'm failing, all I have to do is remember how much I grew through my years in ballet and I know that I can apply that growth mindset to my other interests. I am excited to see what the future holds!

An artist and a scientist, Maria Sibylla Merian was a German naturalist and illustrator at a time when women were discouraged from doing more than being homemakers. Her keen observations of the insect life at her home led her to make valuable contributions to our understanding of metamorphosis, and her drawings influenced the illustrators who followed in her footsteps. She even had the courage to travel with her daughters to Suriname to study her beloved insects. As an aspiring entomologist who loves to dance, and someone who takes every possible opportunity to study abroad, learning about her has inspired and encouraged me to pursue all of my passions and interests.

I stood in the drizzle with a snowberry clearwing moth (Hemaris diffinis) perched on my thumb, its wings vibrating back and forth to warm up. I looked closely taking in this beautiful insect, and a moment later it rose into the air and flew off out of sight into the trees. I returned to my work, cleaning caterpillar frass, invigorated by that one breathtaking moment. Most people my age will scream and run away if they see a bug. I like to take pictures of them. When I go home, I identify and research them. For as long as I can remember I have always loved nature. I grew up in Austin, TX in a neighborhood that is surrounded by nature trails and bordered by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. As I grew older, my casual visits to the Center turned into a regular volunteer job beginning in 2017, gardening, helping with the weekly fauna surveys, and eventually becoming a lead volunteer in the insectary. Growing up, I sat many times looking out my bedroom window at the big oak tree in the front yard, and it made me feel as if I was in a treehouse. I looked out the window daydreaming about all of the creatures that might live in my oak tree. As I began to learn about the arthropods around me from assisting with the fauna surveys, I began to have a deeper understanding of how much life that tree held. Once a person starts looking, it is amazing how many insects exist and how beautiful and unique they all are. From the colorful and color-changing crab spiders (of the genus Mecaphesa) sitting underneath the petals of a flower, to camouflaged planthoppers (suborder Auchenorrhyncha) that look just like small leaves or thorns, to the snowberry clearwing moth that sat perched on my thumb imitating a big bumblebee. I love watching the caterpillars grow and then releasing a giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) or a cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) out of the insectary at the Wildflower Center. As I devoted more time to my entomology interests, I began to realize that more people needed to know the things I was learning, since insect populations are collapsing and preserving biodiversity is an important part of keeping our planet healthy. In an urban area like Austin, it is especially important to teach people about their natural surroundings to help them realize the value of our green spaces and of providing areas where living beings can thrive amongst us. I also realized that fear of the unknown was leading to an underappreciation of arthropods, and that many people choose to eradicate insects because they don’t understand their value and purpose. I decided to do a project using my photographs to create a field guide of arthropods for my school. Along the way, I made it my goal to learn as much taxonomy and as much information about the arthropods I encountered. It wasn’t always easy to identify the creatures I found, but I had a wonderful mentor, Master Naturalist Val Bugh, who encouraged me to try to identify them on my own before she would offer hints. When I needed a break from our Texas heat, I read books like E.O. Wilson’s autobiography and The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World, by Andrea Wulf. I found it fascinating that he was able to make so many discoveries by making connections between disciplines. In March of 2019, when schools moved online due to the pandemic, I had a more flexible schedule and ramped up my insect observations, and completed the final edits to my book, which I self-published using Shutterfly in May of 2020. This was an exciting time for me, as Val helped me realize that I was one of the very few people who had seen the larvae of the tiny tortoise beetle Cassida relicta. A beetle expert at Texas A&M confirmed that I was the first person in my county to photograph this beetle. I raised two of the larvae and learned a few things about their life cycle. When my field guide was finished, I sold copies to friends and neighbors at cost and asked for monetary donations so I could donate copies to area schools. The final product contained more than 200 of my photographs, taken over a span of about 2 years. I also presented my project to my school via a Zoom meeting and as the pandemic lockdown continued, I was inspired to create a photo scavenger hunt for the younger children in the neighborhood and my school. I hope that I encouraged some people to be more curious and less fearful about the tiny creatures that live all around us. I am excited to further develop my interest in the natural world as I continue to work towards a degree in Environmental Science and Biology at Allegheny College, where I am a member of the class of 2024. In addition to my classwork, I am building my outdoor skills as a member of the outing and bird clubs as well as Students for Environmental Action. This weekend, we are going to Presque Island State Park to help with trail maintenance. It has been wonderful to meet peers who share my interests in the natural world. I am eagerly anticipating learning how to do field research and eventually pursuing a career as an entomologist.