The Jornada LTER graduate students held their first bi-monthly social event of the 2020-2021 academic year with a virtual happy hour! The event was attended by six students from both New Mexico State University and Arizona State University, including both master’s and PhD students. We had a fun and lively discussion ranging from the year’s “non-soon” out in the desert (naturally interrupted by thunderclaps from a passing storm), our furry friends making Zoom cameos, and the soon-to-be-opened new housing at the J.E.R. Headquarters. We ended the evening with a virtual show-and-tell where folks shared photos, videos, and the associated stories of experiences out in the field. These included some hilarious camera-trap videos of burrowing owls, a video of a tarantula-hawk wasp dragging its quarry across the desert floor, and a photo from a close encounter with a rattlesnake, to name a few! The JRN LTER grad students plan on holding their next event in October, with more details to come soon!
Courtney & Ryan
JRN LTER Graduate Student Representatives