Josh Mead, a senior fisheries & wildlife major, won best student presentation at the 40th Annual Kansas Herpetological Society (KHS) Meeting, which took place Nov. 1-3 at the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, Kan.
"This was my third time attending the meeting and I have watched many presentations there over the years, but never presented myself," Mead said. "Dennis Ferraro has been a longtime member of KHS, and has taken students with him – such as me – many times."
Mead conducted a UCARE project on the stomach contents of an invasive population of the American bullfrog and chose to deliver a presentation on this research at this year's meeting.
"It was an honor to be given this award for best student presentation on the ecology of North American herpetofauna among many other very deserving students and interesting research projects," Mead said.
Mead is no stranger to hands-on research. He's worked in Ferraro’s herpetology lab for two and a half years, and has assisted Ferraro with field research over the summers.
"One thing that I really appreciate about SNR is that the faculty are very personable and down-to-earth," Mead said. "They make learning fun and are much easier to approach than many professors in other departments."
Ferraro said that Mead capitalizes on university resources, which has allowed him to have a successful undergraduate career.
"Josh is an outstanding student," Ferraro said. "He has a great passion for herpetology and he's willing to take advantage of what UNL offers."
One of Mead's favorite SNR memories is his trip to Puerto Rico in the spring of 2012. The trip was offered as part of NRES 492: Study Tours in Natural Resource Management.
While in Puerto Rico, Mead said he was exposed to a diverse group of wildlife and participated in once-in-a-lifetime activities.
"I had an amazing time in Puerto Rico – from seeing many native frogs and the endangered Puerto Rican boa to many other experiences such as snorkeling on a coral reef," he said. "All in all, it was an amazing experience with great people, places and animals."
Mead is set to graduate this December and plans to take a graduate course at UNL in the spring. Afterward, he aims to pursue a master's degree at another institution.
"He's very strong academically," Ferraro said of Mead. "I told him he better pursue that graduate degree."
With graduation approaching, Mead said that his time at SNR has paved a path that is sure to be filled with more exotic and exciting opportunities in his areas of interest.
"I have always been very interested in animals, especially herpetofauna, and when I found out about fisheries and wildlife in the fall of my sophomore year, I knew it was a perfect fit," he said. "My education at SNR has given me a very solid foundation that will definitely be very useful in the upcoming years and for the rest of my life."
— Mekita Rivas, Natural Resources