I know school stuff is a bit boring to mention, and I don't want to sound self-absorbed in my blog posts, but I have a serious prospect at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD, and everyone's prayers would be appreciated at this pivotal time.

I am in contact with a professor there who has a large amount of NSF funding for researching the evolutionary genetics of pine and oak woodland birds. Although not exactly the polar bear-moose-type research I was aiming for, birds are pretty sweet, and my undergraduate research at SBU has provided me with experience in this area of research. Also, several graduate assistant positions are open in the Integrated Genomics program at BHSU, with a pretty appealing stipend to offer. Integration of genetics has become a growing aspect of conservation biology and also an area "where the money's at." Training of this sort would put me at an advantageous position for future job endeavors.

I am awaiting an important e-mail and am hoping this is the direction I'm supposed to go. So if you think to say a little prayer for Ryan and I, we'd appreciate it greatly!

Here is a link to the school if you feel like snooping a bit. :)

http://www.bhsu.edu/Academics/GraduatePrograms/IntegrativeGenomics/Overview/tabid/2176/Default.aspx