Born and raised in rural central Virginia, the outdoors have constantly been a part of John’s life. From a young age, John loved to explore for amphibians and reptiles. Along with that hobby, John became an avid hunter and fisherman from a young age. Combine all of those interests and that is how John’s passion for wildlife conservation began.
John is currently a junior majoring in wildlife conservation at Virginia Tech. During his time working in the Hopkins Lab, he has worked primarily on a behavioral study of wood ducks and briefly assisted with the ongoing hellbender research. During the remainder of his time at Virginia Tech, he will continue to work in the lab and hope to get more involved with the hellbender research.
Outside of the lab, John also completed an SCA internship during summer 2016 working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Central Florida’s Marine Turtle Research Group. During the internship, John learned much about sea turtle physiology and conservation along with many technical skills used in sea turtle research.
Broadly, his research interests include herpetology, wetland ecology, and environmental toxicology.
