The Coolest Thing Bio350 Micronauts Learned in Fall 2016

Well, it is the last day of my beloved microbiology course, Biology 350, here at the University of Puget Sound.

Because there is just so much #OMG (overwhelming microbial greatness) to share, I always remain conflicted at the end of each Fall semester.  Did I give good coverage of the material?  Did I leave out anything important?  What can I do better next time? What new concepts MUST be in the next iteration of my course?

Truly a moving target.

So on the last day,  I try to have my brave micronauts tell me the single "coolest" thing that they have learned in my class.  Here is a video with the thoughts of my wonderful micronauts from this semester.

What can I say?  You might say that they now "see" through "microbe colored glasses."  Or that they all drank "the microbial Kool-ade" (as I have been accused to microbially propagandizing students more than once).  

I often talk about the #OneTrueMicrobialFaith.  We do need to promote what I have long called "Microbial Supremacy."

Artwork by the great Kaitlin Reiss

Yes, I think that there needs to be MUCH more microbiology, MUCH earlier in EVERY biology curriculum.  But that gets me called names.  Still, as the saying goes, I didn't choose the bug life; the bug life chose me.  

I remain a proud and unrepentant #MicrobialSupremacist.

My students this semester? I like to think that they now have a new perspective of the primacy of the microbial world, from the bottom of the ocean (and beneath the crust) to high in the atmosphere (and perhaps beyond).  

First evolved, and last extinct, indeed.  

So my micronauts have a whole new way of perceiving not just biology, but the world around them.  I hope that they can take that knowledge and perspective into other classes, and after graduation into their next venture.

It's a privilege working with students here in Tacoma.  It's an honor to watching budding micronauts develop!

No semester is perfect, and there were some real challenges for me outside the classroom and laboratory this semester. But I think I got the #MicrobialPoint across!