ConGRADulations!

Dan Belden

Degree/Major: BS in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Waterford, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: Countless fascinating conversations with Bell staff about Minnesota natural history
What’s next? Technician with Anoka County Soil & Water Conservation District

Natalie Burgess

Degree/Major: BS in Fisheries Wildlife and Conservation Biology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Holmen, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: Spring Break Camps
What’s Next? Biological Field Technician for Wenck Associates in Granite Falls, MN. I hope to make plans to attend graduate school in Wildlife Biology within the next year or two.

Lauren Dantes

Degree/Major: BA in Product Design, College of Design
Hometown: Vernon Hills, IL
Favorite Bell Memory: My first star party. It was the coolest thing being able to see the Moon so close up.
What’s next? Marketing & Events Coordinator for Ben & Jerry’s

Bethany Dix

Degree/Major: BS in Chemistry, College of Science & Engineering
Hometown: Amery, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: Working with the visitors (and the snakes)
What’s Next? I will be working for Chrom Tech in Apple Valley

Danielle Drabeck

Degree/Major: Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Favorite Bell Memory: Learning how to prep wolf skulls in my first summer in the Bell mammals collection.
What’s Next?: Postdoc

Josh Egan

Degree/Major: Ph.D. in Conservation Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Moscow, Idaho
Favorite Bell Memory: Putting new identified and cataloged specimens on the shelf in the fishes collection.
What’s Next? Graduation, then postdoctoral fellowship at Western Michigan University starting in August.

Kaitlin Ehret

Degree/Major: BS in Astrophysics & BS in Physics (Teaching), College of Science & Engineering
Hometown: Stillwater, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: The amazing turn out for the 2019 lunar eclipse event that we were facilitating.
What’s Next? Employment within education.

Devan Ekmark

Degree/Major: BS in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology (Minor in Environmental Sciences, Policies, and Management), College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Cook, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: I honestly can’t pick one, I’ve had many weird and wacky experiences I’m fond of.
What’s next: A gap year before grad school.

Eric Eldredge

Degree/Major: College of Liberal Arts

Alaina Friedrich

Degree/Major: BS in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (Minor in Political Science), College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Afton, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: Seeing the interior of the new building for the first time, especially the newly restored dioramas. It felt really personal and transitional to me, because the Bell was taking a new step in its history at the same time that I was entering my final year as an undergrad. I’ll admit that I was pretty emotional and excited to see the glimmering new iteration of the museum after working on the last day that the old building was open and having waited a year and a half to see its new home!
What’s Next? I will be working for a year or two until I decide on a graduate school path because I have mad student loans to start working on.

Jackson Goerges

Degree/Major: BA in Economics (Minors in Product Design and Management), College of Liberal Arts
Hometown: Crosslake, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: The beautiful below zero telescope observation nights / My first sky tonight show in the planetarium that somehow went well.
What’s Next? I will be interning with the Hennepin County Real Estate Assessors Office, beginning my Peace Corps application, and doing a lot more astronomical observing and photographing.

Adam Hartman

Degree/Major: BS in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

Sammi Hoar

Degree/Major: BS in Biology, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: La Crosse, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: Having meaningful conversations with visitors about their personal experiences, such as a family who rescues possums or a woman who survived a run-in with a grizzly bear.
What’s Next? Working for a few years, then graduate school.

Kyra Johnson

Degree/Major: BA in Anthropology (Emphasis in Archaeology), College of Liberal Arts
Hometown: Madison, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: I have enjoyed being able to meet so many different people with different backgrounds and see them enjoy and interact with the museum in their own unique way.
What’s Next? I will be attending Rutgers University this fall to start working toward my Ph.D. in Evolutionary Anthropology.

Maggie Kristian

Degree/Major: BS in Applied Economics and BS in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Palo Alto, California
Favorite Bell Memory: Flying to the edge of the observable universe with my amazing planetarium colleagues!
What’s Next? Management Analyst for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Tori Lafky

Degree/Major: BS in Biology, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Stockton, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: The very first day of tours – the controlled chaos was a blast!
What’s Next? Hoping to gain some work experience in my field for a year or two before returning to school for a Ph.D.!

Lotus Lofgren

Degree/Major: Ph.D. in Plant and Microbial Biology, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Minneapolis via California and Wisconsin
Favorite Bell Memory: My husband and I were the first couple married in the new Bell after it opened last year. We’re huge natural history nerds—I proposed at the American Museum of Natural History by writing on an artist conk fungus and hiding it in one of the displays. The Bell was the only place we even considered having our wedding, and we waited to set the date until the new Bell opened. My favorite moment was the little kid look on my new husband’s face during a surprise visit from the raptor center at the wedding.
What’s Next? I’ll be sticking around the U of M until the end of summer and then heading off to start a postdoc in fungal genomics and ecology.

Carmen Martin

Degree/Major: MS in Conservation Sciences (Minor in Museum Studies), College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Racine, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: Working in the Bell’s research collections and having the opportunity to explore all the incredible and unique specimens it holds.
What’s next? Going to work for Blue Rhino Studios to help create interpretive exhibits for museums, nature centers, and more!

Sowmya Narayan

Degree/Major: BS in Neuroscience and BS in Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Marion, Iowa
Favorite Bell Memory: Teaching people how to make art with vegetables ?
What’s Next? Working in a neuroscience research lab for the next year or so and then applying to PhD programs!

Stephen Offerman

Degree/Major: BS in Agricultural Communications & Marketing, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

Rob Palmer

Degree/Major: MA in Science Education, College of Education and Human Development
Hometown: Marshall, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: sharing the wonders of the sky with all our interested visitors to the telescopes and planetarium. Whether it was looking at the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, or the Moon, everyone is awestruck when pondering our place in the universe.
What’s Next? Teaching high school science for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Paige Palomaki

Degree/Major: BS in Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology (Minor in Spanish and Wildlife Care & Handling), College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Appleton, WI
Favorite Bell Memory: I loved interacting with repeat guests; grandparents or parents with their children that keep having the same wonder and excitement being at the Bell as they had their first time.
What’s Next? I will be starting a dual degree program this fall at the UMN College of Veterinary Medicine to get my D.V.M degree as well as a Master of Public Health.

Meriah Peterson

Degree/Major: BA, College of Design

Dakota Rowsey

Degree/Major: Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Favorite Bell Memory: Completing the inventory on 3,474 unaccessioned fluid specimens collected as a part of the Minnesota County Biological Survey. Knowing is half the battle.
What’s Next? A postdoctoral research position at the Field Museum of Natural History working on Philippine rodent biogeography and species descriptions

John Treadwell

Degree/Major: BA in Global Studies (Emphasis in Russian Cultural Analysis), College of Liberal Arts
Hometown: Maple Lake, MN
Favorite Bell Memory: Getting to know all my amazing coworkers on slow days talking about goofy stuff.
What’s Next? Unsure

Karly Wright

Degree/Major: BS in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management (Minor in Public Health), College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Hometown: Fargo, ND
Favorite Bell Memory: Working the food festival when we opened a durian in collections cove and had all kinds of exotic fruits to try!
What’s Next? A career in environmental science and spending lots of time outside instead of in the library!