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Next week, the rattlesnakes that my students and I monitor during their active season will be emerging from their den. I will have several students working with me this summer, a few from KU and two of our recent graduates as well as two current Rockhurst students. One of these students, Eric Kadlec, just received the Dean's Undergraduate Fellowship for Research, which will fund his summer contribution to the field work. Congratulations, Eric!
I just wanted to once again refer everyone to the Evolution Service-Learning blogs linked at the bottom of this page. Recently each group added answers to questions concerning scholarly articles about their respective project topic. These articles and associated questions allowed students to connect the concepts they have read about in their textbook (pictured) & discussed in class with the topic of their specific grid-computing project. Their answers show that these connections have in fact been made, as they effectively apply these concepts to topics like disease and global climate change. I am quite proud of these blog entries and hope you get a chance to check them out!
Over spring break last week, Darnell Jones and I led a group of outstanding students on an Alternative Spring Break trip, during which time we dedicated ourselves to the service of others in Baltimore. We could not have asked for a better, more cohesive and passionate group of students (left to right: Annie Hart, Rachel Scheve, Emily Schnelting, Abby Gibbs, Kelsey Evans, Nate Olson and Ken Bevers in front). They were committed to service and leadership and to one another, and their personalities and compassion brightened the days of each person with whom they interacted. From children in urban Head Start programs to adults with developmental disabilities and women & men in need of a hot meal, our group touched the lives of many. This was certainly reciprocated, as the stories of these wonderful people helped us to grow and to find ourselves in them. It was truly a transformative experience for all and I thank Darnell, Fr. Gregg Grovenburg and the University, our amazing students and the people of Baltimore Catholic Charities for this incredible opportunity to live our mission.
Some exciting things have happened since my last post, so I will just list them:
Please check out the blogs my Evolution students are maintaining for their service-learning projects (links at the bottom of this page)! They parallel the themes of their Darwin Day posters (pictured here) and, just like their posters, the students have put a lot of work into their blogs as well. Soon they will be posting accounts of interviews they have conducted with experts on their respective project topics, followed by entries concerning scientific literature on their topics and updates about their projects. So please remember to check them regularly!
