Paul elliott
Technician
What has been different in your experience this summer?
“Last year I was an undergrad, learning the ropes, trying to get a sense of things. This year I'm a mentor, which is exciting. I'm teaching people the ropes. I'm the only member of the lab that went over from one year to the other. So I know the protocol, know the trees a bit. It's just exciting being in the opposite role. I still doubt myself a lot. I don't feel qualified to be teaching people these things, but it's exciting. It's like a weird confidence boost. ‘Yeah. I can teach people these things!’”
How has your research at Tyson compared to other research experiences that you've had?
“Oh. Well, I've had no other research experiences! All I've had is lab courses in college. Do you have [duct] tape, by the way? [Duct tape is used to remove and suspend ticks from clothing. It is a common accessory worn by members of the Tyson community.] I'm still doing similar things [to lab research] but I'm in the woods where everything's different every day you go out there. We'll go out to the same plots, but there will be a new log, a spider, that's really cool. We saw a deer this morning, which was neat.”
What has been the most challenging thing so far this summer?
“I want to give a deep answer, but probably the mosquitoes. Ticks I can deal with, because they aren't itchy. You just see 'em, you get 'em off and then you're good to go. But the mosquitoes! The amount of bites that I've gotten this summer—it's just miserable. You're taking data at the same time that you're seeing all these bugs crawling all over you. It's exhausting.”