Josef Simme is a recent graduate of Roanoke College. He had the opportunity to present his research project at the 28thColloquium on the Conservation of Mammals. His dream to become a wildlife biologist and his love of the outdoors led him to pursue his research topic. His project is about evaluating the effects coyotes have on other mammal carnivores in the Roanoke Valley by using trail cameras. His favorite part of his research was “being able to hike every Saturday morning as well as looking through all of the great photos we get each week makes it an awesome task. Seeing it all come together from all the hard work put in is so rewarding as well”.
Josef loved the opportunity of presenting his work at the conference as he was “able to learn a ton, make connections as well as share what I have learned and get insight from others on the topic”. The conference ended up being a lot of fun even though Josef was nervous at first. Josef intends on continuing wildlife biology research so there will be plenty more of these research projects in the future.
Josef advises that if one is interested in doing research “Sit in research labs and talk to students to see what would be the best fit for you. Research is something huge that sets you apart from a lot of other schools. It will prepare you for the real world and give you incredible experiences as well as a stellar resume”.