Lesly Ann Llarena

Unforgettable Experience

posted August 08, 2014

Going tide pooling was great! It was interesting to see the diversity of plants and creatures living together in a pool of water. It was also nice to see whale bones being preserved in rocks at the beach. They were neat to look at and I never thought of finding them there. It amazes me on how fossils can be found everywhere, I just have to look carefully. Next time I go to the beach or drive and see rocks, I will double check if I can find something interesting.

My whole experience overall was amazing. I enjoyed learning about ostracods, bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, and many other interesting topics. The paper discussions were definitely a great way to get my mind thinking of what would happen if there was another mass extinction, and ways to prevent that from happening. Field trips were always entertaining due to it being hands on. I love spotting anenomes (aka Tram's favorite, because her expression was priceless.)

At the beginning of the program, I didn't know much about paleobiology. I felt like a fish out of water, but overtime I enjoyed learning about it. Everything fascinates me, because at some point I wanted to be a marine biologist. I felt that I was doing something that completes that curiosity. I learned a lot this summer and it was great to be part of an incredible group of people. It was a flavorful, fun, and adventurous summer.

So far it has been awesome and delicious...

posted July 22, 2014

So far it has been awesome and delicious!! Everyday contains a dash of frustration and 100 cups of pure fun. Visiting UC Berkeley was interesting. I have never been to the stadium and seeing the Hayward fault was amazing. It was nice to see the affects of the earthquake and how the surrounding areas got shifted.

Camping on the other hand was extremely fun despite the hiking. Hiking was definitely a struggle, but it felt good at the end. The scenery was beautiful and it was a nice weather. I got to learn about volcanic rocks which was really cool. I also collected some fossils of my own( with the help of Noel of course), which were really neat. I never thought we can find fossils on the side of the road. A lot of bonding and memories were made which made it an enjoyable trip.

 Overall, my experience has been great. Working with R is still confusing, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'm a little nervous for my research project, but I'm sure everything is going to work out fine. I love doing the presentations, because we get to be experts of certain species and we get to learn an abundance of interesting facts.

Two weeks in...

posted June 30, 2014

Two weeks in. Measuring ostracods. Noel's malted milk balls rice krispy treats. It all sums into sweetness. The past two weeks had been interesting. The research that I am doing is something I did not imagine at the beginning, but everyday I come home with something learned, which is what matters most. Collecting data about ostracods can take long, but it feels good knowing that what I'm doing will be beneficial for people in the long run.

My experience so far has been good. Everyone is filled with curiosity and wonderful thought-provoking ideas during our discussions. It is interesting to hear what other people think about the articles that Noel would give. Overall, everyone has been great and I can't wait for future weeks to come.