January Interim Sees Beavers Tracking Wolves in Minnesota, Coyotes in Phoenix

Students had the experience of a lifetime throughout a variety of January Interim courses including a biology-based zombie apocalypse, a wilderness internship in Minnesota, and a sports marketing trip to Arizona.

By Allyssa Ertz, Communications Intern

Ever wondered how you would survive a zombie apocalypse? Maybe you’re curious how wolves live in the wilderness. Then again, you may want to relax and tour the PING Golf Factory after playing a round of golf.

While these endeavors seem random, they share a theme: Each option is available to Buena Vista University students during Interim, a monthlong period of instruction in January.

You are Patient Zero. You have a hypothetical infection and want to infect the population, or, make that, class. Brittney Dinkel, visiting assistant professor of biology, teaches “Using Science to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” throughout January, using biology to assist students in understanding biologic processes and infectious diseases.

“I’m using the popular model of zombies to get students to understand basic principles of how the body works, and how infectious disease can spread through a population,” Dinkel says. “I wanted something that was a combination of giving them the lecture and the material, but also a lot of hands-on experience. Many seem to have been having fun, because a lot of them are non-biology majors, so this is the first time they’ve done a brain dissection. It’s a different way of teaching science to them.”

“It’s very like family-like. You get to know people really quickly,” she says. “I’ve never taken a class with this professor, and I’m taking one now, and I absolutely love it.”

Casey Lamle

Students have also worked with bacteria swabbed from various areas of campus, hypothesizing which surface is dirtiest. Then they try to determine what type of bacteria resides on their samples. Because this course fits a general education requirement, it can be attractive to students who may not normally gravitate toward biology. Students have found an aptitude for the content, creating solid relationships across campus that otherwise may not have happened.

“The main reason I took it is because I thought it sounded really interesting, but it also counts as a General Education course,” says Erica Boeset.

Though she is taking this course as a general education offering, Boeset, an accounting major, appreciates what January Interim showcases.

“It’s very like family-like. You get to know people really quickly,” she says. “I’ve never taken a class with this professor, and I’m taking one now, and I absolutely love it.”

January Interim, also called J-Term, offers a variety of out-of-major new experiences including the availability of internships for students to explore the wilderness, literally. Casey Lamle, a senior biology and chemistry double-major, spends J-Term at the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Minnesota for a Wolf and Northern Carnivores Ecology and Tracking internship. 

Lamle spends his days with wolves, immersing himself in their ecology, working in plane radio telemetry, compass navigation, tracks identification, and signs of animal activity. The internship group has visited professionals in their jobs and has seen how the Department of Natural Resources brings in animals for research.

Students visited the International Wolf Center, and the North American Bear Center, which provided connections for students in future jobs or internships. Lamle was privileged to learn The Bear Center’s activities from a professional who has gained trust of wild black bears to the extent he could walk with mothers and their cubs. There is only radio collaring them, no traps or tranquilizers.

“We have also done a ton of tracking. At six hours at a time some days, we’d break up into the woods and look for tracks and signs of animals,” Lamle says.

Lamle’s love for animals and nature form a professional position for his passion. He plans to apply for internships and jobs based on connections made in this experience.

If you would rather play golf, watch a Phoenix Suns game, and find your niche in sports marketing and business, the Arizona J-Term Sport Marketing Trip might be a better fit. David Hodge, instructor of sport business, and Trevor Berneking, director of recreation services, left Iowa on Jan. 8, and soon met members of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, toured Chase Field, and hiked the mountainous desert. 

Students visited the Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Rising, TPC Scottsdale, and toured the PING Golf Factory. Executives in each organization discussed ticket sales, sponsorships, marketing, and job skills. Students watched the Suns, the Coyotes, and a men’s basketball game at Grand Canyon University.

The group was drawn to TPC Scottsdale as there were opportunities to take photos at the famed No. 16 hole, the only enclosed hole on the PGA tour with a grandstand completely surrounding the layout to accommodate 20,000 spectators. These factors, along with the hole’s reputation as the loudest in professional golf, gives “The Coliseum” its nickname.

Sales has been a popular topic among Phoenix sports professionals and students. According to Hodge, sales is often where graduates begin in a sports career.

“Students have learned what a typical job in sales looks like, skills to be a good salesman, and the pros and cons of working in sports. Even more, students have learned the value of networking and how important doing internships and volunteer work are in the sport industry,” Hodge says.

This trip specifically is invaluable because students are able to process the amount of time they will be at work, what entry level jobs in this industry consist of, and the important role networking plays in sports management.

“Most of the executives we have met know each other even though they work in different sports, divisions, and areas of Phoenix,” Hodge says. “Our executive from the Suns told the group that in his three years of working at the Suns, we are the only group of college students he has met with for a meeting and tour like we do. He was extremely impressed our trip exists and encouraged the students to take full advantage of all it has to offer.”

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