<p>
	<em>In this three-part series, Au Sable has asked three alumni from &#39;Molecular Tools for the Field Biologist&#39; course to describe their journey into molecular ecology.&nbsp;Biological science is a dynamic and ever-changing discipline, full of new and emerging areas. To keep our students at the forefront of environmental work, Au Sable began a class focusing on the revolutionary changes taking place in environmental and ecological science through molecular genetics. As the testimonies attest, Molecular Tools makes traditional naturalists uneasy at the thought, but quickly wins over students who see how it can be used to make a powerful difference in ecology, systematics, and conservation.</em></p>
<h2>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Erik-Swanson-250pxl.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 180px; float: right;" />Erik Swanson, BS Student &amp; A Rocha Wheaton President, Wheaton College</h2>
<p>
	There are a number of things I took away from Au Sable&#39;s &#39;Molecular Tools for the Field Biologist&#39; course.&nbsp;Taking &#39;Molecular Tools&#39; made me consider pursuing research opportunities and graduate school for the first time. The practical skills, especially practice doing PCRs, and the knowledge, especially phylogenetics and basic molecular ecology, that I gained through the class made it possible for me to join one of my professors the next fall working on a conservation genetics project. This experience led to a letter of recommendation and was ultimately key in getting a paid summer research position (REU).</p>
<p>
	While the projects that I ended up doing during my internship didn&rsquo;t turn out to be as closely related to the research that I had done previously as I had hoped, the experience of seeing a project through to completion and overcoming the challenges that inevitably turn up was invaluable in preparing me to do research in an independent setting.</p>
<p>
	Given my experience, I would highly recommend &#39;Molecular Tools for the Field Biologist&#39; to anyone, even if you don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll ever use the skills taught in the course. At the very least, taking the class will give you the basic knowledge you need to read a large and growing segment of the literature that deals with ecology and conservation. At best, you may discover, as I did, that molecular ecology is coolest thing in the world!</p>
