Kudos to

From as far back as I can remember I have been interested in animals, particularly animals that no one else seemed to care as much about. This lead me down a lot of paths and “favorites”, but the thing that always stuck was reptiles.  This passion was never slowed down by my parents, the same people whose Christmas tradition was going to the zoo. They

Thank you, Dr. Hauge. I first met J. Brian Hauge in 2003 when he was a professor at Penn State. I was a student and saw a Field Biology course that was being offered, so I decided to go for it, and it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The instructor for that course turned out to be Dr. Hauge. During

In 2015, theTurtleRoom created a YouTube video called “Why Turtles?” In that video, each of our staff had the opportunity to answer that question, from a very individual perspective. We threw ideas back and forth a bit beforehand, and several people shared one moment as a turning point in their life as a chelonian keeper. That moment stuck out for us, as a time when

For years, I remember a longing I felt to make connections in the turtle world. I remember during the early days of theTurtleRoom and even in the years before, just wanting people to trust me, to work with me, to talk to me. It was a tough realization for me, that I was outside of my normal circle. Local reptile people, basketball teammates, and friends

I am an animal person – someone who has dedicated my life to education, preservation, and conservation. It’s what I love. More specifically, I am a turtle person. Anyone who knows me knows that this is my passion in life. That being said, my professional specialty is people. I have always been a people person, someone who tries to listen to others and is always

It’s been nearly four years since I made the leap to move on my own all the way from my family in central Illinois to the remote southernmost tip of Texas, just a few miles from the Mexico border. As a young nineteen year-old I was not absolutely confident in my decision but decided to push forward and follow my dreams to live in a

My first semester at college was tough. I remember getting sick and having no one really care much about it. What a lonely realization to have at age 18. I lived in the dorm and despite my dramatic recollection of the initial transition, I did start to make friends. This growing list of new partnerships consisted mostly of fellow students, mostly my basketball teammates at

Thank you, Professor Joe Hummer. It’s been about 20 years since I first met Professor Hummer as a naïve nature lover at Penn State DuBois. He was a Wildlife Professor within the Wildlife Technology Program. I consider him one of my mentors in herpetology. He was the first person to introduce me to working with turtles, as well as many other species. He had a