Atlas Moth

While growing up on 40 acres of land in Minnesota, I loved to be outside, surrounded by nature. My parents helped foster my lifelong interest in the study of living organisms. My mother taught me the names of all the birds that came to the bird feeders. When my father and I walked through the woods, he taught me the names of the deciduous and coniferous trees. I spent many hours identifying insects and started a bug collection at an early age. My childhood certainly played a big role in my becoming a biology teacher.