Aditi C. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: Pearl27072@aol.com

Pets: Tiger (a German shephard mix) and Princess (a Weineraimer mix).

Hobbies: Hanging out with friends, playing the piano, reading.

Funniest VNH Moment: When Dr. Hall called out to his wife while we were driving back from the second trip to Hornsby Bend and two other ladies looked at him with a weird look on their face!

How VNH changed your life: Now I try to identify all the vertebrates I see!

Interests: Running, skiing (even though I suck at it), piano, movies, music and Animals (esp. vertebrates).

Any other useful info: Currently a teacher in Round Rock ISD

Amy B. (VNH TA: Fall 03, Spring 04, Maymester 04, Maymester 05)

Email: abickham@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Missippi Mud Turtle

Funniest VNH Moment: "When the woman at the Winnie Inn thought we were a mobile paternity testing lab and wanted us to test one of her kids."

Current research: Investigating speciation in the bat genus Rhogeessa. She is also looking at karyotypic evolution and phylogeographic patterns in this bat group.

Amy K. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: aking5@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Macie, a dog and Icky, a fish.

Favorite memory of VNH: "When Dr. Hall cut the head off a road killed fox with a knife, we got some strange looks from cars passing by.

Interests: Ultimate, soccer, running, biking, backpacking/camping, reading and listening to music.

Other Useful Information: Amy has graduated and is currently giving zipline tours by Lake Travis.

An H. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: candleburning@hotmail.com

Pets: Pepper, a pitbull (yes, An has a Pitbull.)

Funniest VNH Moment: "Watching DH leap out of the van to try to catch a 4 foot milk snake only to realize it was a coral snake as it slithered into the grass!! Or maybe hearing dh call every toad/frog he caught "son" and then asking them "who's your daddy."

Interests: More snakes and lizards! Maybe even some birds..MAYBE also wishing I could adopt every stray dog or cat that I meet.

Other Useful Information: An is in Vet school at Texas A&M.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Fall 05 South Texas Trip.

Andrea B. (VNH May 05)

Email: abade@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: a Betta (Siamese fighting fish) named Betta.

Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, anything outdoors, working on my Chaco tan, catching frogs and toads (fo shizzle), "owning" frogs and taods after commiting to them, applying sunscreen to the backs of muscular men in my VNH class, and navigating the VNH vans down unpaved roads that go through low water crossings and maize fields.

Interests: MUSIC, sports, playing guitar, cooking, hangin at the beach, the mountains, watching sunsets, laughing uncontrollably, motorcycles, naps, gerber daisies, art and life in general.

Funniest VNH Moment: "Probably the best was when Amy brought a Thamnophis proximus into the van (holding it by the tail only)and it began whirling around uncontrollably to the point that it broke it's tail off and then slithered about freely in the van (for the remainder of the trip for all we know) and everyone was laughing so hard and screaming. I was perched up on the top of the back seat(scared shitless). Later that night we stopped at a gas station for a break(and to look for the snake) and while I was gone they put a rubber snake in my pack. Soon after,they lured me to pull out my nalgene bottle to give the frogs a drink. When I did, the fake snake flew into my lap, causing me to go into a rampage and say a few choice words. Clearly they all had a nice laugh on my behalf."

How VNH changed your life: I have acquired some new braking techniques for night driving, some fun and interesting ways to surprise people with snake hooks, two new ways to catch lizards, and also some new ways/positions to ride in 14 passenger vans with snakes loose in them (feel free to contact me for further info).

Other Useful Information: If DH takes you night driving down spooky Chapeno road, be prepared for old trucks to metamorphose into toyota camrys. Also, if you compliment DH's cooking, be open with your choice of words.

Andy G. (VNH TA Spring 01)

Email: andy@gluesenkamp.com

Pets: Most are adoptees and research/educational critters: A Gila Monster named Gub-Gub (Heloderma suspectum), a Fat-tailed Gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) named Leroy, two Senegalus Bichir fish (Polypterus senegalus - a primitive ray finned fish), Minckley's Cichlid (Herichthys minckleyi), a Cave Obligate Planarian (Sphalloplana mohri-flatworm), Psuedoeuroctonus reddelli, and a small collection of Texas Eurycea spp. in my office.

Funniest VNH Moment: "I can think of more fun moments than funny ones. We were going to visit a local river for some seining one afternoon but our plans fell through. I lived on a nice stretch of Onion Creek at the time so I suggested we head out to my place and see what we could find. We parked the rental vans at my house and walked over to access the creek via a trail behind my neighbor's barn/carpentry shop. He and his partner were more than surprised to see over a dozen men and women in bathing suits and shorts carrying seine nets and such past the window. The highlight of the trip for most folks was feeding fish to my pet Mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus)."

Current Research: I am collaborating on descriptions of a couple of new species of Andean toads and I am leading another biospeleology expedition to Cuba in December 05. I currently work for a small environmental consulting company (http://www.zaraenvironmental.com). Most of our work is with rare and endangered cave and karst species but we also do bird surveys, invasive species control (Red Imported Fire Ants), cave management, and primary research in various fields. Most of my research is focused on salamanders of the genus Eurycea. I'm currently working on several Eurycea projects: description of a new cave dwelling species from Bexar Co.; mark-recapture study of a cave population in Williamson Co.; phylogenetic relationships within the southeastern clade (Bexar, Blanco, Comal, Hays, and Kendall Counties); and population monitoring in several caves in Comal Co. I spend quite a bit of my time in/under the field. As you can imagine, I love my job!

Other Info: "Dave Hall is by far the best lecturer I have ever worked with."

Audrey 'The Verminator' S. (VNH Fall 05)

Email: audreygolightly@hotmail.com

Pets: None, animals make me uncomfortable

Hobbies: Thinking about Sam, trying to attach myself to sam, generally trying to be more sam-like

Interests: um..Sam. Vertebrate Sam-ology. Bio of Sam.

Funniest VNH moment: Sam

How VNH changed your life: I met Sam

Brian H. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: Brianhudson85@hotmail.com

Pets: None

Favorite memory of VNH: "Favorite memory of VNH would have to be when he caught that snake in South Texas."

Other Information: Graduated with major in Biology and currently working on his music career with the band, The Hudsons!

Darla C. (Bio of Birds Spring 05)

Email: DGChow@cvm.tamu.edu

Pets: A kitten named Twiggy

Hobbies: Running, Fishing, Working with Animals, Watching TV.

Funniest Bio340L Moment: "When Frank yelled "Indigo Snake," and in the blink of an eye, the whole class literally dropped everything we were doing and barreled into the field to look for it. Oh yeah, also, the Indigo Snake pooped on me when I was holding it."

How Bio of Birds changed your life: "I'm glad I got to have Dr. Hall as a teacher, because he is one of the best professors ever! I got a thorough survey of birds and will use the info I learned in my vet career and for future birding. I made a lot of awesome friends in Bio of Birds."

Other useful data: "I will be attending A&M vet school in Fall '05!!! ~But I'm a Longhorn at heart."

David X. (VNH May 05)

Email: jedix123@yahoo.com

Pets: None, I'm animal deprived!

Hobbies: Electronics, Sleeping, Movies

Funniest Bio455L Moment: "Anytime Hubert tells a joke...I think we all remember those."

How VNH changed your life: "Life moves too fast, if you don't slow down and smell the roadkill, what's the point of it?"

Other useful data: Make sure you let your sunscreen set in before entering water. Otherwise when you come out, you'll look like you have skin disease.

Don C. (VNH May 04)

Email: d.l.c.iii@gmail.com

Pets: Had a Ptycozoon gecko (died), and a injured brown snake, and his friend Pseudacris crucifer. They got along great. Until the snake and the frog went on to better things when I moved.

Hobbies: Floating the river, jumping off Pace Bend, Driving my Subaru through mud, snow, ice, sand or all of the above, going to Volente on Lime Creed rd., ohh and trying to get a job since I graducated. But thats not happening till I finish being lazy/drinking alot.

Funniest Bio455L Moment:  One out of three. One, Onychomys leucogaster, the grasshopper mouse, the most ferocious mouse. Two, Doc Hall telling me to pull with both hands on a DOR Mud snake. Three, seeing the shortest girl I ever saw, step over the largest Western Diamondback Rattlesnake I have ever seen, and try to ID it. Then scream and run away.

How VNH changed your life: Talking with everyone very freely as if they were already old friends, about very very funny stuff. Talking with Doc Hall about his life, and progress gave me some ideas on how to profess toward my goals. I really got a good grip in this class on what I wanted to do with my life. Peeling dead things off roads....

Other useful data: I graduated. I am in Port Aransas taking some Marine Science courses and taking in the sun/alcohol. Oh and looking at those Verts I have learned to love. Marine fish. By the way, I hope this doesn't spread, but inverts are cool too. Especially squid. Hopefully going off to a job (fisheries observer/TPWD) for a year before grad school.

Good Grasshopper Mouse Quote: "The Northern Grasshopper Mouse ambushes its prey rather than chasing it down. It tracks prey by smell. Coming upon a likely meal, it rushes suddenly upon the victim, seizing it with shart claws and killing it with a bike to the neck. Then it devous the kill, head and neck first, adn the rest until nothing is left but bone and scraps of fur." -Mary Taylor Gray.

Erin H. (VNH Fall 02)

Email: erin@sosalliance.org

Pets: Two darling cats, Pepe and Maggie.

Favorite memory of VNH: The time when Dr. Hall jumped off the clifff at Lake Amistad in West Texas. He yelled "oh crap" all the way down and surfaced exclaiming "I'm injured!" in a Scottish accent.

Other Information: Erin is currently working with the Missouri Department of Conservation, doing bird surveys all over the state. She is also planning to apply to grad school next fall.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Fall 03 East Texas Trip, VNH Spring 04 East Texas Trip, VNH Fall Fall 04 Choke Canyon Trip.

Frank S. (VNH Fall 04, Bio of Birds Spring 05)

Email: shuman17@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: none

Funniest VNH Moment: "was when our van was talking about promiscuity in different species and Dr. Hall told Liz that her father was just as likely to be the mail man as it was to be who she thought was her father." 

Least favorite VNH Moment: "when we stayed out till 3 because Herper Bob is crazy about snakes but pissed and moaned whenever we tried to catch anything else."

Hobbies: Playing soccer and reading

Other Information: Currently seeking employment, Frank graduated May 05.

Glene M. (VNH Spring 04)

Email: swaaiheupe@yahoo.com

Pets: A Jack Russell Terrier named Heidi

Funniest VNH moment: When Dr. Hall found his beloved Mud Snake..you'd swear it was Christmas!

Interests: Natural history, systematics, and taxonomy of verts and inverts, getting dirty to find things.

Other info: Currently completing a Master's degree in Entomology at Texas A&M University. I plan on doing scarab systematics, but I am always fond of looking for birds, snakes, turtles, and lizards. One of my favorite memories as a child was when I accidentally jumped over two mating Black Mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis) on the coast near East London (S. Africa)..I've loved snakes ever since.

Heather W. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: hewright@yahoo.com

Pets: None

Favorite Memory of VNH: When Dr. Hall jumped into the water to grab that great snake in South Texas."

Other info: Currently working as a nanny and volunteering at the New York Aquarium in the Animal Training Department.

Hubert H. (VNH May 05)

Email: hubertham@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: none

Funniest VNH moment: When Amy dropped a live snake in the van while night driving and we couldn't find it.

Hobbies: Cars and Sleep

How VNH changed your life: Thanks to VNH, instead of being freaked out by snakes, I'm only mildly freaked out by snakes.

Janian K. (VNH Fall 03, Bio of Birds Spring 05)

Email: janian@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Two dogs, Coco (Bichon Frise), Loba (Westie) and a Cockatiel named Bebe

Favorite memory of VNH: "When Dr. Hall showed us parts of the dead alligator and we actually got to put our hands in its mouth, thats something I didn't think I'd ever get to do."

Other Information: "I wish I was in that class again."

Latest Update! Janian just got a job as a Diagnostics Technician for Silliker Labs.

Janie M. (VNH Fall 04, Bio of Birds Spring 05, Herpetology Spring 05)

Email: janiem0525@yahoo.com

Pets: A mutt named Pancho Villa.

Favorite memory of VNH: "When Dr. Hall ran out of the van to catch what he thought was a milksnake, but it turned out to be a coral snake.  Then we walked around the high grass trying to find it (what was I thinking?). And the hillbilies we came across in Winnie, who were willing to take us to a place with snakes as long as we didn't have any "tree huggers" in the van because they were going to shoot stuff.

Interests: Sports, reading, TV

Other info: Currently working at the Fire Ant Lab.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Fall 05 South Texas Trip.

Jill K. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: jill.koehler@corps2004.tfanet.org

Pets: None

Favorite memory of VNH: Dr. Hall catching the snake at Santa Ana, Dr. Hall ran into the lake and pulled out that beautiful snake.

Other Information: Currently a high school science teacher in Brownsville. She is always looking for guest speakers for her class. She is also thinking about going to Peru for research during the the summer of 05.

Extracurricular Activities: Bio of Birds Spring 04 West Texas Trip, VNH Maymester 04 East Texas Trip VNH Fall 04 South Texas Trip and VNH Fall 05 South Texas Trip.

John B. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: johnbarry@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Mac, a dog

Favorite memory of VNH: Playing poker at Port A

Interests: Bugs

Other Information: Currently thinking about Grad School and working at Dr. Gilbert's Fire Ant Lab.

JR C. (VNH Maymester 05, Bio of Birds Spring 05, Herpetology Spring 05)

Email: jrcao@msn.com

Pets: Montezuma, a Blue-tonged Skink.

Interests/Hobbies: Nature, science & technology, getting smashed, the beach, playing disc golf.

Funniest Moment: We were in "the shit" at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and we were being attached by the relentless squads of Anopheles (mosquitos). We just ran through the trails to avoid behing eaten alive. We all looked like the Snoopy character Pigpin, but instead of a cloud of dirt, we were surrounded by a cloud of mosquitos.

Best Memories of DH: I will never forget his "gung ho/no fear" attitude of slamming on the breaks and jumping out even before the van settles, or charging thru the bush after anything that crossed his path. What a guy! Also I heard that a student (who shall remain nameless) had the nerve to pass gas in his face while he was crouched down examining a roadkill specimen. That must have been a riot."

How VNH changed your life: This class has given me a more realistic view on the destructive path that we have chosen, and if left unchanged, I fear this course will be taught using jarred specimens and pictures, rather than live specimens, and what fun would that be.

Kat P. (VNH Maymester 04)

Email: krasskulture@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: none

Favorite memory of VNH: Party at Monahans and the night in Beaumont that Dr. Hall got lost on the back roads and our van whistled the theme from Deliverance incessantly for 3 hours.

Best VNH Joke: The night we drove around the oil fields and our van didn't notice the fake plastic snakes that Amy put in the road, and Amy's van didn't notice our van mooning her as she passed us.

Other Information: Currently teaching English in South Korea.

Krista M. (VNH Fall 03-pictured left)

Email: km1297@txstate.edu

Pets: A Shih Tzu named Tosh that she has had since she was 9. A black cat named Shadow, who is possessed by the devil and a Heterodon nasicus.

Favorite memory of VNH: "When DH took off like a shot after a huge snake in South Texas. When he had that snake in his hands he looked so triumphant you'd have thought he'd just saved a life! It WAS a beautiful snake!:

Other Information: Grad school at Texas State working on her masters in Wildlife Ecology. She is working on setting up a thesis project right now on turtles! Currently, everything is on hold until she gets back from her National Guard duties in Afghanistan.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Maymester 04 East Texas Trip.

Kristina S. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: Kangaroopaw11@yahoo.com

Pets: A black cat named Cosmo, a Torti cat named Noobie, and a flame point siamese named Mr. Littlejeans.

Hobbies:

Favorite memory of VNH: "Telling ghost stores in Dr. Hall's van, in complete darkness and in the middle of nowhere."

Other Information: Australia

Kyle L. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: kylel@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: None, unfortunately

Favorite memory of VNH: "Seeing the look on Herper Bob's face after Rachel accidently backed up over a snake while night driving."

How  VNH Changed your life: "Basically I just try to identify any animal that I encounter and if I can't it bugs me."

Other Information: Works as a permit issuer at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Laura B. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: dicua@hotmail.com

Pets: Three dogs and lots of little Zebra fish.

Favorite memory of VNH: When Dr. Hall drove into the river to catch that snake and came back with the snake haging form its arm, biting him but smiling as if he just got a new toy. At that moment I thought: "Damn, he is who I want to be when I grow up!"

Other Information: Laura has graduated and is currently in Italy. She is applying for grad school for Conservation Biology. She misses Texas.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Maymester 04 East Texas Trip and VNH Fall Fall 04 Choke Canyon Trip.

Laura M. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: lmoulton@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Lampropeltis triangulum

Hobbies: Music, yoga, movies and learning new things.

Funniest VNH Moment: Either the time DH chased after what he thought was a milksnake but it turned out to be a coral snake, or when our van was night driving that same night and DH caught a Great Plains Rat Snake that kept biting him and everyone else who dared to touch him.

Favorite memory of VNH: Seining up three Green Sea Turtles in Port Aransas, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen, also seeing a flock of 300+ Wood Storks flying over on the way to Port Aransas.

How VNH Changed your life: VNH got me interested in reptiles which I never knew I was before, also taught me a lot of things I'm currently using at my job now.

Interests: Conservation Biology, Reptiles and Habitat Restoration.

What you are doing now: Graduated in Dec 2004, did an internship for PRBO Conservation Science on the Tidal Marsh Project. Now back in Austin, and job hunting!

Lisa L. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: lisamlat@hotmail.com

Pets: Pooter the mut, Caddo the golden lab, and 40 Boer goats belonging to my mom.

Hobbies: Running, Rock Climbing, Camping, Biking, Canoeing, Cooking, Basketball, Stained Glass Art

Interests: Being outside, live music (especially my fiance's band)

Funniest VNH Moment: In South Texas, Dr. hall perfected the annoying call of the Chachalaca and we saw two Salvadora snakes making babies in the grass. And in Port Aransas, wrestling with 3 green sea turtles in the surf was pretty exhilirating, it was harder than goat wrangling.

How VNH your life: I cannot appreciate the animal for just being some "thing." It must be identified and appreciated and caught and poked and peeled off the side of the road and placed in jars and baggies and freezers. I have been labeled as a nerd by many, and the sad thing is that I am honored to have the title.

Any other useful info: I will be volunteering in Ecuador for two months in the summer of 2005 to help with ecological and conservation initiatives in the Andes Mountains and Amazon Basin regions. Marriage and grad school in the near future!

Liz G. (VNH Fall 04, Bio of Birds Spring 04)

Email: lizz@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Dog named J.B.

Favorite memory of VNH: "Laying in my tent listening to Rachel and Herper Bob's van get back at 2 a.m. and thinking 'Gee, I'm glad I'm not them.' "

Favorite VNH Quote:  "We soooooo own him." Thats what Dr. Hall says about EVERYTHING.

Other Information: Lizz is currently working as a youth director at First United Methodist Church in Commerce, TX.

First encounter with Mike C: "Mike sent an email to my entire Spring 04 Bio of Birds class with a picture from VNH saying he hoped we had as much fun in this new class as he did in VNH. I thought that was alittle strange. Then on bird field trips he kept jumping out of the van at gas stations to look for herps. I was like who is this over zealous dude?! But now that I have taken VNH, I have to admit that I understand... VNH is a class like no other. But Mike is still over zealous."

Lynnsey M. (VNH Fall 04, Bio of Birds Spring 05)

(Right)

Email: lynnsey@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Maddie, my aussie mix dog

Funniest VNH Moment: "Watching the raccoon on the East Texas trip act cute to get food; it was pretty adorable and pretty sly."

Interests: Animal Behavior studies focusing on mammals or birds.

Other Information: I will be attending grad school at Nebraska for Animal Behavior in fall 05.

Mike C. (VNH Fall 03, Bio of Birds Spring 04)

Email: mikeyc681@hotmail.com

AIM: MikeyC681

Pets: Ophisaurus attenuatus, Gerrhonotus liocephalus, Pituophis catenifer, Lampropeltis getula californiae, Thamnophis marcianus, Scaphiopus couchii, Crotaphytus collaris, Eublepharis macularius, Ceratophis ornata, Salvadora grahamiae lineata, Heterodon platirhinos, Pogona vitticeps, Varanus salvator, Varanus exanthematicus, Charina trivirgata, Lampropeltis alterna, many Lampropeltis triangulum subspecies, Bogertophis subocularis, Pantherophis obsoleta rossalleni, Pantherophis emoryi, Pseudelaphe bairdi, Storeria dekayi, Chalcides ocellatus, Chlamydosaurus kingii, Arizona elegans, Rhinocheilus lecontei, Geochelone carbonaria, and a Lampropeltis pyromelana.

Favorite memory of VNH: "When Dr. Hall caught the large Nerodia rhombifer at McKinney Falls SP. At that moment, I realized that this class is going to renew something that I lost after high school! I picked up the young Opheodrys aestivus a few feet next to the rhombifer and followed DH back across the stream to the main group. It was awesome!"

Other Information: Graduated with a degree in Zoology in 04. Currently working as a Bird Keeper at the Houston Zoo. Loving his job, but hating the city.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Spring 04 East Texas Trip, VNH Maymester 04 East Texas Trip, VNH Fall 04 East Texas Trip, VNH Fall 04 Choke Canyon Trip, VNH Fall 04 S. Texas Trip, Maymester 05 Trip and Choke Canyon Fall 05 trip.

Monica F. (Biology of Birds, and VNH Honorary member)

Email: monimoon@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: A Dog named Jack and Hundreds of Cats at the Vet clinic I work at.

Funniest memory of VNH: "DH running down a highway in East Texas dancing after he caught the mud snake, if only we could all be that excited once in a while. Or maybe DH stopping to pry a piece of carpet off the road and insisting that we ID that hammered snake, that was hilarious!"

Interests: Birds, Swing Dancing, anything to do with animals, camping, conservation biology.

Other Information: Currently working at a Vet Clinic in Round Rock.  Applying to Grad School. Also going to Grand Cayman Islands in August to do some Sea turtle/Blue Iguana work.

Extracurricular Activities: VNH Spring 04 East Texas trip, 04 Maymester trip, Fall 04 South Texas trip, 05 Maymester trip, Fall 05 East Texas trip and Fall 05 Choke Canyon Trip.

Nicole C. (Bio of Birds Spring 04, VNH Fall 04)

Email: niccoops@yahoo.com

Pets: Grizzy (a jack russel mix), Ninja (a Bengal cat!), and Big Mac (a fat black and white cat).

Hobbies: Playing basketball, volleyball, piano, painiting, modeling, pilates, hiking, petsitting, and spending more money than I have!

Funniest memory of VNH: "At Falcon State Park, an Onychomys leucogaster (Grasshopper mosue) that we had caught in Sherman trap started making this extremely high pitch call and eventually all of the other grasshopper mice jointed in. It was the coolest, most painful thing I had ever experienced!"

Interests: To finally get out of school and find a job working with animals all day.

Rachel S. (VNH TA: Fall 04, Fall 05 Bio of Birds TA: Spring 04, Spring 05)

Email: rseabury@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Jake the Corn Snake, Ketz (short for Quetzalcoat- the feathered serpent) the Western Hognose

Hobbies: Catching birds, catching snakes (actually catching just about any animal), reading, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, lying on the beach, queso (ok, fine, cheese in just about any form), margaritas, animal behavior.

Funniest memory of VNH: "Dave inverting the dead alligator's "unit" with all the hunters looking on rather shocked. And how Dave always says that the rhombifers at Fort Clark Springs would make you BLEED."

How VNH changed your life: VNH has helped so many young scientists by making them more nerdy. In my case, instead of just identifying every bird I see to the uncaring people with me, I can now give latin names for just about everything else as well.

Current Research: I'm interested in how Laysan Albatross deal with long term fasting. Both adults and chicks fast for 2-3 weeks at a time. I'm looking into how stress hormones balance current vs. future reproductive success in adults and how they may also play a role in the timing of fledging in chicks. I do my field work at Midway Atall and on Kauai, Hawaii.

Ricky Z. (VNH: Maymester 05, Bio340L: Spring 04)

Email: travelerrz@yahoo.com

Pets: Chiquita the Chihuahua and Mandy the Pit.

Hobbies: Running, Basketball, Roadkill, Rodents and Reptiles.

Funniest VNH Moment: "DH U-turning for roadkill near a border control check point and the cops chasing us!"

How VNH changed your life: 1. Awarness of Snake Diversity, until the course I assumed most snakes were venomous. 2. Thermal vision and night vision rules!

Interest: Conservation based farming and ranching, GIS, Spanish, Traveling, Promoting the preservation of wild places through hunting and other eco-activities.

Other useful info: I'm off to Mexico for a year then on to grad school!

Sam E. (VNH: Fall 05)

Email: lsevans@mail.ev1.net

Pets: Rosie, the cat.

Hobbies: Saltwater fishing, Not freshwater fishing; its for hillbillies.

Funniest VNH Moment: Floater and Bloater were vegans but ate Dairy Queen once in a while. Squirt and beef jerky sittin' on the floor. Boss wouldn't let me spoon. Being 20 monkey smart, and being OK with it.

How VNH changed your life: I found four wonderful role models for my daughter. You can't get much better than Audrey, Charly, Sara and Stephanie.

Interest: Seriouly? Be afraid fish, be very afraid.

Sarah P. (VNH: Maymester 05)

Email: purpleiris143@yahoo.com

Pets: Two Red Eared Sliders (Big Turtle and Baby Turtle), one Common Map turtle (Little Turtle), one Snapping Turtle (Snappy), and one fat cat (Marvin).

Hobbies: Canoeing on Town Lake, going out to eat, drinking bubble tea, going to the movies, swimming, reading.

Funniest VNH Moment: "When we got pulled over by two cops and Dr. Hall showed them the huge rattlensake that we had just caught, and one of the cops was so scared that he put his hand on his gun and said, with a redneck accent, "The only good snake's a dead snake!"

How VNH changed your life: When I go outside now, even if it's just to check the mail, I'm constantly aware of the animals around me. Now I can actually identify a lot of the animals that I see, and I feel so much more educated. Overall, VNH has given me a greater appreciation and awareness of all vertebrates.

Interest: Reptiles (especially turtles) and Veterinary Medicine.

Sarah T. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: flyingred99@yahoo.com

Pets: Border collie named Patches and Ball Python named Thor and a rat that Thor doesn't want to eat, just named Rat.

Crazy VNH Moments: Scooping roadkill off the road and being genuinely interested in IDing it.

Interest: Camping and drinking a lot of beer.

Other useful info: Currently working at TxDOT in Houston as a env. specialist.

Stephanie G. (VNH Fall 05)

Email: stephgraham@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Yellow Lab named Daisey

Hobbies: Hiking, Climbing, Camping, Playing Pool, Running, anything outoors

Funniest VNH moment: "One was when we stopped on the side of the raod to pick up a dead Caracara, but as Rachel would say, it "wasn't quite dead yet." Then she handed it to me in teh van, head first, with its huge talons looking ready to strike (I know it was too injred to do anything, but that was one heck of a large bird!). Another was just all of the many conversations that occurred at the campsites."

How VNH changed your life: "This class has been amazing. It resparked my interest in all vertebrates, not just those with which I was previously familiar. It allowed me to obtain some field experiences, unlike most university classes. "

Stephanie S. (VNH Fall 03)

Email: smsisco@yahoo.com

Pets: Two White's Tree Frogs, Pickles and Gum Drop.

Favorite memory of VNH: "When Dr. Hall drove into the water to catch us that awesome snake in South Texas."

Other Information: "I'm currently teaching biology and physics right now at Stony Point High School in Round Rock."

Tamim M. (VNH Fall 04)

Email: tamimmalbari@hotmail.com

Pets: Pitbull named Diego

Funniest VNH moment: "When I got lost at BFL."

How VNH changed my life:  "Now I try to identify every animal I see with its genus and species."

Interests: Hot chicks.

Advice to furture VNH students: "Don't get lost at BFL, people tend to make fun of you."

Tiffany H. (VNH Fall 04, Bio of Birds Spring 05)

Email: tiffany_h@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: A Corn Snake named Eli (thats two feet long!) and a tank of tropical freshwater fish.

Funniest VNH moment: Rating Dr. Hall on the "stinkometer" on the East Texas trip. He definitely hit a perfect 10 after standing neck deep in the swamp and then climbing back into our van.

How VNH changed my life:  "Now I annoy friends and family constantly by shouting out the scientific names of any wildlife we see. I wasn't always this irritating. I'm happy to say I'm much nerdier now."

Interests:  Herpetology and Ornithology

Other info: Currently Intering at Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Okaholma.

Tracy H. (VNH TA: Spring 02)

Email: tracyh@mail.utexas.edu

Pets: Tony (Pomeranian mix), Arrow (Golden Retriever), and Snakey, a Texas Longnose Snake. Snakey is soon to be a KU museum specimen.

Funniest VNH moment: Spring 2002: When a student asked me to make the lab practical multiple choice; Spring 2003: Winnie, TX: I drove off with the gas pump nozzle still in the van.

Research:  Computational phylogenetics, specifically, I am developing methods for simulating tree-of-life sized phylogenies and molecular data set under complex models of evolution in order to test questions regarding the importance of sampling in phylogenetic reconstruction and methods for estimating rates of molecular evolution.

Travis LaDuc (VNH TA: Fall 02-Spr 03)

Email: travieso@mail.utexas.edu

Pets/Research Animals: "Yellow Lab named Molly, Zoo of Herps (30+ non-venomous snakes, 24 venomous snakes, 3 Chelydra, 1 Apalone, 1 Graptemys nigrinoda, 1 Amphiuma, 3 Eublepharis (leopard geckos), 1 Gopherus - I'm likely forgetting something....)"

Funniest or Favorite VNH moment: "Cameron in the grass getting Dave and I to chase a "wild animal"; 15 min encounter with bobcat in Bensten-Rio Grande SP; first trip to Winnie (lots of snakes); second trip to Winnie (lots of birds); setting minnow traps at 1:30 am at Aransas; my first indigo snake; watching the Cliff divers at Amistad; 2 Barking Frogs; I could go on and on....."

Current Research/Interests:  Ecology and Distribution of Texas Herps, Natural History of Nerodia; Educating public about Herps.

Vance B. (VNH May 05)

Email: hornfan456@yahoo.com

Pets: none

Hobbies: UT Sports, time with kids, recreational travel.

Funniest VNH Moment: We were night driving with DH, Ricky saw a snake out of thecorner of his eye, and started screaming excitedly "Stop the Car, Stop the Car, that was the biggest #$%@^$# snake I've ever seen in my life!" I really enjoyed teasing him about sounding like an excited little girl at Christmas time. Also, we were stopped by a couple of CCPD officers shortly thereafter, and it was amusing to watch this big tough (Billy bad-ass) cop squirm looking at that 5' rattlesnake in the hot box with his hand on the butt of his weapon saying "you can close that box now."

How VNH changed your life: Suprisingly, I am interested in continuing to practice names for organisms. I guess it's because I worked so hard trying to learn what we did. I will definitely share some of my experiences with my sutdents in the future. DH is really something else. An RTF student needs to go on one of the trips and record it because the stores can be unbelievable. Maybe it's his calling...the South Texas Steve Irwin.

Interests: Becoming a better Herper, and birder with time.

Vance I. (VNH May 04)

Email: vanceimhoff@hotmail.com

Pets: Sceloporus olivaceus, Sceloporus undulatus, Rana sphenocephala, Hyla cinerea, Bufo punctatus, Bufo speciosus and Scaphiopus couchii.

Favorite memory of VNH: "Four reasons why everyone should take VNH in order of increasing importance: DQ, hammered herps peeled clean off the asphalt, the fine cooking of one extraordinary chef, & the superlative cerebrating of one Dr. Dave Hall (aka the fearless leader)."

Interests: All things biological

Other Useful Information: Never try to fool the guard at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Currently living in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and working for Lehigh University as a Lab Tech.