Hi! My name is Lauren Thompson and I am a senior majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife and English. For my internship experience, I worked with graduate student Tierney Brosius on her Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) research at the UNL Entomology lab. Tierney's research focused on the habitat requirements of the Salt Creek tiger beetle (SCTB), Nebraska's federally endangered insect that lives only on the salt marshes outside of Lincoln's city limits.  Tierney involved me in every step of her research, teaching me how to form a hypothesis such that studies can be carried out to support or disprove it.  She taught me about the proper methods for collecting, organizing, and analyzing data.  Because protection of the SCTB is a controversial issue for many Nebraska landowners, I also learned about the relationship between researchers and the public.

What I learned from Tierney has already proved beneficial.  I recently submitted my application for a Fulbright research scholarship, and I could not have written an adequate research proposal without understanding the process of developing a feasible research question and appropriate methods.  I know that this field experience will also help me be prepared for my graduate education when I have the opportunity to design and conduct my own research