NARRATOR:
This summer, eighteen Hendrix students explored the marine environment in Belize
as part of a marine biology taught by Dr. Jenn Dearolf.
DR. JENN DEAROLF, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY:
So in the marine biology class we’ve studied coral reefs and spent a lot of time
studying the organisms that they would see on the coral reefs. It's very difficult
to expose students here to the marine environment. We study things here at Hendrix,
but then we need to get out into the marine environment and actually see it and
so we went down to Belize to do that
SYDNEY HALDEMAN
It was really good because we spent a lot of time in lab looking at specimens
and learning about the ecology of the things. We got to go out there and see these
things in action. We talked about mangroves and all the organisms and what they
do and how they interact with each other. We got to go out and see mangroves. We
got to see the different levels and what organisms are there with the baby fish
and the big fish. It was really cool.
DR. DEAROLF:
There's a lot have culture there – specifically the Mayan culture – and I thought
it was important for students not only to study in a marine environment, which of
course was what the marine biology course was all about, but since we had such a
great opportunity to be exposed to the Mayan culture, why not add that Global Awareness
aspect to the trip?
HALDEMAN:
It was really cool to see the history of the area, because we went there to see
the ecology of the fish in the marine environment, but it was neat to see the history
and the Mayans and what had been there. It was something that I would have never
been able to do had I not taken its course
NARRATOR:
For more information on this and other stories, visit
www.hendrix.edu/news.