John R. Evans
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
I was awarded the Udall Scholarship while still attending my local community college. At that time, I was still undecided about where to complete my undergraduate work and at a loss as to how I was going to afford to do so. Shortly after the announcement that I had won, I received a phone call from the director of the Honors Program at the University of Tennessee. He stated that the University was very interested in having me as a member of their program. Upon visiting, I was introduced to some of the top researchers in the field of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The following fall, I had the opportunity to work for one of them.
Dr. Gary McCracken is a leading researcher in population ecology and evolutionary genetics. He has done extensive work with bats and has been interviewed in National Geographic Magazine and on the Discovery Channel. I worked in his DNA sequencing lab during the fall semester of 2002. It was a valuable experience that introduced me to molecular resources in conservation biology. I have since enjoyed taking several classes from Dr. McCracken and am happy that he is my undergraduate advisor.
Another rewarding experience came when I decided to submit my own proposal for an independent research project in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was awarded a Summer Research Internship by the University of Tennessee Honors Department to conduct a study of the pollination ecology of the two species of purple-fringed orchids that occur in the park. During the process, I became an independently permitted researcher under the National Park Service and found myself spending the summer days high in the Smoky Mountain forests. It was hard, time-consuming work…and exactly what I always wanted to do. It was a joyous moment when it hit me that I was there, DOING it!
The research itself was rewarding, as I found several novel and significant pieces of information regarding the pollination ecology of the two orchids. I discovered previously undocumented pollinators for one species and disturbing evidence for the decline of the other. I am in the process of writing a report that I hope will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
All in all, it’s been a rich year, and the Udall Foundation deserves much credit for making it possible.