Hello All,

I am Kaitlin Stocking, and I am a senior Pre-med Biological Sciences major from Livermore, California.  I will be attending physician assistant school upon graduation next may.  I was interested in the course of Insect Ecology not only because it was a highly recommended class by other people who I knew took it, but I have a profound appreciation for the impact that insects actually have on our world.  I have always had sort of a passion for animals in general, stemming from having a passion for exploring the outdoors.  It is because of this Insect Ecology course that not only have I gained a further interest into learning about insects and how they interact with their surrounding environments, but from this class I have learned how important each individual insect is to our ecosystems.  In all honesty, there are still some insects that creep me out.  However, the benefits that they provide to all aspects of the world, outweigh any bad aspects that may be associated with them.  There is often a stigma associated with the Insect population on earth, being that they are just creepy organisms.  However, it is through many years of studies and research, that this is shown simply to not be true. I am truly excited to keep on learning about Insects, and hopefully I get to take another class that focuses on them in the near future.

- Kaitlin Stocking