Today is our annual FISS (Freshmen in Science Seminar) pizza party. FIS is a course required of all freshmen science students and is designed to (to quote the Biology Department website) "increase students' success in the sciences. Some activities are designed to help students become familiar with the faculty and each other; others instruct the student in practical subjects such as course selection, studying science and time management." We also feed the students twice during the fall (once in the form of a spaghetti dinner and the second, the pizza party). Today, while having pizza, students will reflect on their major/career options after having attended presentations by local professionals in numerous fields over the past few weeks. FIS is a great way for students to learn about the university and to get to know their fellow freshmen as well as most of the science faculty. I believe it to be one of the many benefits of Rockhurst, as it better prepares students to survive their first year in college.

On a side note, so that I can include a picture of something cute and fuzzy, this week my research students and I are again trapping mammals at our study site in order to assess the prey diversity for our snakes. This morning we caught 14 rodents, one of which was a prairie vole (Microtus orchogaster). It was pretty exciting for us, since these guys don't occur where I'm from and my students had never seen one before.