My name is Jazmine and I’m a rising senior at McMurtry College, majoring in Biosciences!

This blog will keep track of my days in Belize tracking the biodiversity of organisms of the rainforest and reef! I’m very excited for this trip, as it will be only my second time out of the country, and my first time to an area of the like!

As an integrative biology major concentration, I’m looking forward to this trip because it will be a chance for me to explore the EBIO portion of my major, especially in a field work setting. Thus far, almost all of my research has been in a biochemistry focus within a lab setting. As I’m still deciding which path I want to take after undergrad, I hope this trip will give me some insight into whether field work is for me!

I’ve studied up on my taxa (trees and molluscs) both of which we are guaranteed to see on this trip! I think, if anything, I’m most nervous for the boat ride to the island, because I know I have a tendency to get motion sick and have never been on a boat (aside from a small one on a lake) before. But I’m stocked up on Dramamine just in case! 

I’ve never been to the tropics, but that’s part of why I’m so excited for this trip! I have taken a course on coral reefs and the effects of climate change, so I’m looking forward to seeing the reality of that class in person!

I’m gonna be driving in the middle of the night to get to Houston at 6am – so t-minus 5 hours till I head out! See you soon Belize!