Community Involvement & Outreach

In Northeastern Kansas

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• 2022 Presented a lecture on "Insects All Around Us" and assisted with the "build a bug" activity at the Entomology Department Section of Grandparents University held at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. 

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• 2022 Showcased live and mounted arthropods, and helped kids race cockroaches and create paintings using live maggots at the KSU Entomology Kansas Day Booths at the Junior Wildcat Day event held at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, KS. Video highlights are available at: https://youtu.be/GtJgeOaSZfk

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• 2016, 2019, 2021 & 2022 Showcased live and mounted arthropods, and helped kids race cockroaches and create paintings using live maggots at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Insect Booth at the Friends of Tuttle Creek State Park's OK-Kids Day event in Manhattan, KS.

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• 2021 Presented live and pinned insects at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Spooky Insects Classroom Presentations at Minneapolis Grade School in Minneapolis, KS. 

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• 2021 Presented live and pinned examples of common house and garden pests at the KSU Insect Zoo's Plant Sale Fundraising Booth at the Downtown Farmer’s Market of Manhattan in Manhattan, KS.

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• 2019 Showcased live arachnids featured in the Harry Potter series at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Spider Booth at the Harry Potter Dessert Theatre event held at the KSU Student Union in Manhattan, KS.​

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• 2017 & 2019 Presented live insect pests and instructed middle school girls on how to view them with dissecting microscopes (hands-on activity) at the Department of Plant Pathology's Secret Life of Plants, Microbes, and Insects Station at the Girls Researching Our World workshop at KSU, in Manhattan, KS.

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• 2015, 2016, & 2019 Organized and volunteered at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Insect Activity Booths (i.e., painting with maggots, cockroach races, insect petting zoo, mounted insect displays, insect cloche crafts, insect coloring sheets) at the KSU Open House event in the Entomology Department in Manhattan, KS.  

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• 2014-2017 Tour guide for school groups at the KSU Insect Zoo in Manhattan, KS. ​​

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• 2017 Organized and volunteered at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Moths and Butterflies in Science Booths at the Junction City Public Library in Junction City, KS.

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• 2016 & 2017  Showcased insects from Kansas and helped kids create paintings using live maggots at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Maggot Painting Booth at the Aggieville Mini-Makers Faire in Manhattan, KS.

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• 2015, 2016, & 2017 Judged the 4-H Entomology Collections at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, KS. Provided feedback to participants on how to improve their insect collections.  

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• 2015, 2016*, & 2017 Organized,* proctored and graded the insect identification and multiple-choice examinations for the Entomology Section Career Development Event (CDE) hosted by the Future Farmers of America at the KSU College of Agriculture in Manhattan, KS. Announced the scores at the 2016 award ceremony held in the union ballroom.  

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• 2015 Organized and volunteered at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Insect Pinning and Craft Party Booths at the Aggieville Mini-Makers Faire in Manhattan, KS. Taught kids and adults how to properly pin insects (hands-on activity) and helped kids create insect cloche crafts.

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• 2015 Organized and volunteered at the KSU Popenoe Entomology Club's Insect Booths at the Hoots and Howls Event at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, KS. Showcased live and mounted arthropods. Helped kids crate painting with live maggots. 

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• 2015 Showcased live arthropods and mounted specimens with an emphasis on pollinators at the Entomology Station at the Earth Day event hosted by the Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program Garden Project at Herrington Elementary School in Herrington, KS.

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• 2015 Presented live insects and discussed variations in body segment morphology with students at Riley County Elementary School in Riley, KS.

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• 2002-2006 Cared for education animals and interpreted exhibitions around the zoo with live animals and animal artifacts (fur, shells, claws, etc.) at the Sunset Zoological Park in Manhattan, KS. Participated in the ZOO Crew, Explorer, and Docent volunteer programs. 

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In Northeastern Arkansas

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• 2012 Judged the 6th Grade Science Fair at Annie Camp Junior High in Jonesboro, AR.

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• 2011 & 2012 Organized and hosted campus visits for her GK12 students from Wilson, AR. Students attended the ASU Earth Day celebration and toured the ASU Biology Department and greenhouse, the ASU Telecommunications Department, the ASU Museum, and the Arkansas Biosciences Institute. 

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• 2011 Judged the 6th Grade Science Fair at Valley View Middle School in Jonesboro, AR.

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• 2010,-2011 Led biotechnology tours of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute in Jonesboro, AR.​

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• 2010 Helped Chef David’s Kids Wishgrant Foundation to construct a Japanese garden for a child who underwent a heart transplant in Kennett, MO.

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