Zachary Hanna began volunteering in the prep lab in January 2006.  Over the spring semester, he learned to prepare bird and mammal specimens.  That summer he was hired as a field assistant for the Grinnell Resurvey Project.  Working with Drs. Carla Cicero, Chris Conroy, and John Perrine, he learned a variety of field techniques and gained invaluable experience in wildlife sampling methods.  This spring 2007 semester, Dr. Cicero hired him to assist her on a number of bird biogeography projects.  Because of his involvement with the MVZ, I decided to study bird biogeography in a senior honors thesis with Dr. Cicero and Dr. Rauri Bowie as his advisers.  In the summer of 2007, he was given the opportunity to participate in an REU grant for a hummingbird project in Peru.  He is currently working on an honors thesis with two advisors in the museum, Carla Cicero and Rauri Bowie

“My decision to volunteer in the MVZ prep lab opened numerous doors for future experience.  It also set me on a path and gave me training that allowed me to take advantage of those opportunities.  For me, the museum has been a place of intellectual growth, memorable experiences, and a community of friends that I can never thank enough for all they have provided me.”