Justin Conner is making the most of his opportunities. Originally from Florida, Justin spent his summer in Australia where he was working alongside researchers……well, we’ll let him tell you:
Since my interview with Terra my life has been on a little journey. I traveled to Australia for five months and that was a wonderful experience, I learned about a culture different from my own, met some of the most amazing people I have ever met and also I received another opportunity to do research. I emailed a professor in Australia named Suzy Munns and she welcomed me in her lab allowing me to do research on the physiology of shingle-back skinks (a skink is just a type of lizard if you didn’t know). My work with professor Munns opened my eyes to new opportunities in research and in graduate school. Now I hope to receive my PhD in biology in the next couple of years and do research in comparative physiology. Since the last Terra article I have become more focused in becoming a great scientist and eventually changing the world with my science. I am by no means the most intelligent individual, but very few can match my passion and that is what I take pride in. So to recap I would say Australia hasn’t just changed me as a person but also as an aspiring scientist, and every experience in my college today, good or bad, has shaped me into the man that I am today.
I would like to add a special thank you to the people that have gotten me to this point in my life: my mother and father, the professor I have done research for here at Oregon State (Dr. Andrew Blaustein), and another very important person in my life, Corey Jones.
Catch up with Justin from this Terra article from June 2013.
Justin Conner grew up with manatees and alligators in Florida and is now studying amphibians at Oregon State. (Photo: Frank Miller)
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