Botany or biodiversity career chat with: Pamela Soltis, Curator, she/her/hers and her lab. 
Description: Come talk with Dr. Soltis and her lab about botany, biodiversity informatics, genomics, herbaria, graduate school and more!  
 

Plant and animal ecology chat with Caroline Baruzzi, Postdoctoral Associate 
Description: You can chat with Dr. Baruzzi about animals, plants, fire ecology, and how to apply for grad school or how to find a mentor to start doing research.  
 

Ichthyology (fishes) career chat with Gabriel Somarriba, Masters Student he/him/his 
Description: You can chat with Gabriel about careers associated with Ichthyology, natural history collections, graduate school, and more. 
 

Behavioral Disease Ecology Research with Nick Keiser, Assistant Professor, he/him/his 
Description: Come talk to Dr. Keiser about his lab’s research, and career options in biology and ecology.  
 

Evolution and animal behavior career chat with Juliette, Rubin, PhD student, she/her/hers 
Description: You can ask Juliette about how to carry out your bachelor's degree goals, questions related to mentoring in a lab and lab and field techniques. 
 

Invertebrate zoology field and laboratory work with Jessi Whelpley, PhD Student, she/her/hers. 
Description: Talk with Jessi about working with invertebrates in the field and lab, genetic research, and graduate school.  
 

Science librarianship with Tara Cataldo, Biological Sciences Librarian, she/her/hers 
Description: Join Tara to explore ways to prepare for and teach workshops on scientific literature searching citation management or research metrics. Learn about creating online guides for online information in biology, botany, zoology or genetics. 
 

Discussing Life as a practicing physician with Jaya Kolli, Lecturer, he/him/his 
Description: You can talk to Dr. Kolli about his experience as a practicing physician for more than 40 years and teaching health professional students.  
 

Archaeology and museums with Michelle LeFebvre, Assistant Curator, she/her/hers 
Description: Dr. LeFebvre welcomes the opportunity to mentor students interested in learning more about educational pathways and careers that bridge social and natural sciences, especially in natural history museum settings. 
 

Soil ecology chat, Dorota, Porazinska, Assistant Professor, she/her/hers 
Description: Learn about nematodes and microbes, virtual demonstrations using microscopes and how Dr. Porazinska studies them. You can get a virtual tour of the lab and equipment. 
 

Mammalogy (bats) graduate school, and entomology chat with Laura Nicholson Master's Student she/her/her 
Description: You can learn what it is like to do bioacoustic research on bats and the process of studying ecological connections as a graduate student at the University of Florida. Students would be able to see the process of processing (identifying, sorting, and counting) insect specimens in person, as well as the process of analyzing bat acoustic calls through the bioacoustic software Kaleidoscope (online).  
 

Marine ecology career chat with Diana Chin, Postdoctoral Fellow, she/her/hers 
Description: You will be able to discuss a variety of topics related to careers in marine ecology, including preparation in college or graduate school, what a week in the life of a marine ecologist might look like. 
 

Graduate school chat with Kaili Gregory, Masters Student, she/her/hers 
Description: You can explore a day in the life of a graduate student, working on population analysis of a freshwater turtle species. Their work centers around decision making in natural resources and quantitative methods to analyze populations. 
 

Agricultural industry job chat with Md Babar, Associate Professor, he/him/his
Description: You can chat with Dr. Babar and explore opportunities related to careers in the agricultural industry and more. 
 

Ecosystem services from forage/livestock systems with Liza Garcia, Faculty, she/her/hers 
Description: You can learn about the Research Station in North Florida and interact with faculty and graduate students conducting their research experiments in animal sciences and in agriculture. 
 

Exploring the possibilities and opportunities that are available at UF (University of Florida) and beyond with John Solet, Nutrition Educator, he/him/his 
Description: As a first-generation high school and college graduate, John looks to help other minority students explore opportunities that were never shared. Mentoring and exposure are two things that helped him overcome so many life obstacles.  
 

Equine Science Career Chat with Carissa Wickens, Associate Professor, Extension Equine Specialist, she/her/hers 
Description: Talk to an Extension Equine Specialist. You can explore how to improve the sustainability of the Florida and U.S. equine industries through scientific inquiry and extension education/outreach. You can discuss opportunities to become involved in the field of equine science, and to explore the equine industry. 
 

Entomology Career Chat with Rebecca Baldwin, PhD 
Description: Explore the biological field of entomology and the diversity of career fields from public health, medicine, research, agriculture, and pest management. Participants will have an opportunity to interact with live arthropods, take a virtual tour of the department that includes displays of social insect colonies and examples of technology produced through collaboration between entomology and engineering, and then will look at the research labs where they can participate in a medical/urban entomology research experience exploring how mosquitoes are attracted to hosts. 
 

Medical technologist or Microbiology PhD Mentoring with Chanel Mosby-Haundrup, PhD Candidate, she/her/hers. 
Description: You can chat with Dr. Mosby-Haundrup about being medical technologist in the hospital and also learn about her journey as a PhD student in microbiology. 
 

Extension career chat with Yvette Goodiel, Extension Agent III, she/her/hers. 
Description: You can learn about landscapers, nursery growers, farmers with Yvette. Chat about the work of extension agents, pathways to becoming an agent, and you can see a demonstration of farm soil moisture sensor technology virtually.
 

Marine Extension with Brittany Scharf, Marine Extension Agent III and PhD student, she/her/hers. 
Description: Come chat with Brittany about marine extension programming and how citizen science is incorporated to meet the needs of the stakeholders in the community.
 

Pest Management Discipline (Weed Science) with Pratap Devkota, Assistant Professor, he/him/his 
Description: Come talk to Dr. Devkota about crop production and pest management challenges. Learn about career opportunities and required skills for agriculture and pest management. 
 

Tropical plant collection digitalization with Zack Brym, Assistant Professor, he/him/his 
Description: Students will be introduced to the plant collections and digitalization efforts ongoing at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center. Students may choose to get involved with documentation and archiving with the project.  
 

Water resources career chat and exploration with Abbey Tyrna Extension Agent, she/her/hers.
Description: During this mentoring experience, Abbey will examine your thoughts, interests, and ideas regarding higher education and produce an easy to navigate plan to get you where you want to go.  She will also be sure to take time to inventory available resources and connections that can assist you along the way. 
 

Livestock/pre-veterinarian chat with Lizzie Whitehead, Extension Agent. 
Description: You can learn about Livestock and Natural Resources, see the office work and research done in extension.  
 

Tropical fruit marketing experience with Trent Blare, Assistant Professor, he/him/his "
Description: You can learn about extension activities in working with small scale growers to develop business plans and put them into action for fruit, vegetable, and ornamental plant industries in central and south Florida. 
 

A Journey into marine biology with Victor Blanco 
Description: When you ask anyone about what marine biology is they mention words like dolphin, ocean, fish, and seaweed. Marine biology is a career with unlimited possibilities in many different areas. Meet me in a one-on-one online meeting and let's talk about your expectations and my experiences. I will try to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction to become a successful marine biologist.  
 

Virology chat with Matthew Phillips, Postdoctoral Associate, he/him/his 
Description: I do basic laboratory research investigating how different things in the gut, such as bacteria and bile, affect viruses that cause disease in humans. I focus on norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, and is a common outbreak on cruise ships. I can mentor about graduate school (what it is like and what is required), basic research, working as a scientist, academia in general, and the area of virology research specifically. 
 

Organic and sustainable veggie production, with James Longanecker, Field and Fork Farm Manager, she/her/hers 
Description: Talk with James about sustainable gardening, agroecological growing techniques, agricultural research, and other topics related to agriculture.  
 

Shellfish and costal management with Kristie Perez, PhD student, she/her/hers 
Description: Talk with Kristie about interdisciplinary ecology, fisheries, and aquatic science. She has a background in stakeholder engagement and aquaculture/ fish health.  
 

Evolution and ecology career chat with Rilquer Mascarenhas da Silva, PhD Student, he/him/his 
Description: Talk with Rilquer about ecology and evolution research, biodiversity, biogeography, and conservation.  
 

Immunology with Joseph Larkin, Associate Professor, he/him/his 
Description: Talk with Dr. Larkin about career decisions associated with immunology.
 

Biological Engineering career chat with Ana Martin-Ryals, Assistant Professor, she/her/hers 
Description:  Interested in learning how you can apply biological sciences and engineering to solve important societal challenges like producing food, protecting our water resources water, and creating renewable bio-based energy and materials? Then join Dr. Martin-Ryals from the department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering for a virtual chat or lab tour. 
 

Urban ecology: sustainable landscape design with Jesse Jones, Research/Extension Associate (PhD student starting Jan. 2022), he/him/his 
Description: Join Jesse for a conversation answering questions about academic coursework and other important decisions in urban ecology and landscape design.
 

Coral reef ecology, MPA management, sustainable finance with Angelique Brathwaite, NGO Manager, she/her/hers 
Description: You can chat with Angelique, a marine biologist with 20 years of varied interests in science, conservation, and finance. Their work involves improving effectiveness of MPAs both in terms of management and finance. 
 

Career chat about ornithology, anatomy, paleontology, or museum collections with Catherine Early, Curator, she/her/hers 
Description: I can provide an hour-long informational interview opportunity for students who are interested in ornithology, anatomy, paleontology, or museum collections. 
 

Botany and bioinformatics career exploration with Kasey Pham, PhD student, they/them/theirs 
Description: Meet for a chat about school and career options in botany, bioinformatics (computational approaches to handling big data in biology), and merging interests in STEM and art. We can also talk about graduate school experiences more broadly. 
 

Community Science chat with Jessica Hernandez, PhD, she/her/hers 
Description: Dr. Hernandez is a transnational Indigenous scholar, scientist, and community advocate based in the Pacific Northwest. She has an interdisciplinary academic background ranging from marine sciences to forestry. Her work is grounded in her Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing. She advocates for climate, energy, and environmental justice through her scientific and community work and strongly believes that Indigenous sciences can heal our Indigenous lands. 
 

Shark Science and non-profit management with Jasmin Graham, President/CEO, she/her/hers 
Description: Chat with Jasmin Graham about how she got into shark science, her day-to-day life as a shark scientist, and the cofounding of a non-profit. 
 

Community Science or Urban Mammal Research Career Chat with Miguel Ordeñana, Sr. Manager, Community Science, he/him/his 
Description: Talk with Miguel about his career and role as an urban mammal research and community science manager.  
 

Environmental Social Science and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion with Leander Lacy, Chief Executive Officer, he/him/his 
Description: This will give you a chance to see an alternative path in conservation which is consulting. Leander will introduce you to staff and project meetings. 
 

Careers in Biology chat with Brett Woods, Interim Dean, he/him/his 
Description: I am a first-generation, African American male with a PhD in biology.  I have field research experience.  I am currently Dean of the School of Natural Sciences. 
 

Mammalogy Career chat with Noé de la Sancha, Professor, he/him/his 
Description: I have mentored undergraduate students since I was a PhD student. I mentored students while doing my field work in Paraguay. Many of them have moved on to achieve master's and PhD degrees in various countries. At my current institution I have mentored 16 students at museum-based research. 
 

Chat on pursuing research opportunities and graduate education, Kelly Slay, PhD, she/her/hers 
Description: I am happy to offer guidance and feedback to undergraduate students with specific questions about how to research opportunities and experiences or how to navigate graduate school admissions. 
 

Paleobotany chat with Julian Correa, Mackenzie Smith and Indah Huegele, PhD Students 
Description: Join this group of graduate students to explore the Paleobotany collection; they can show the process of Coal Ball Peeling or other techniques based on some of the interests of the student(s). 
 

Embryology and Evolution chat with Raul Diaz, PhD, he/him/his
Description: I can discuss with students my path to academia, early upbringing, challenges and benefits of being first generation graduating high school through getting a phd, and also my love for weird animals and how it turned into a career.