Another semester started & half way finished.

Sorry for not posting a blog since last May, but the way this semester has started out has left me with little time to get things caught up with the blog. Believe it or not, this semester is almost half over! I have a lot of catching up to do, but before I get into this semester, I need to finish things up from last year.

The last blog left off with an uncertain GPA. It was a challenging semester & I was not happy with what I thought would be the outcome. I ended up with two pleasant surprises & one not so pleasant surprise. The bad news was that I showed up for what I thought was my last Old Testament survey class only to find out that they were giving the final early. I was totally unprepared and did not do well. My poor final exam grade resulted in a disappointing B for the course. I should have easily received an A.

I got slightly better news in Zoology & Calculus. I figured out that I would need at least a 96% on the final exam in order to get an A for the entire course. I received an A on the final, but not a 96%; so, based on my calculation, I should not have received an A. My zoology professor saw me a before I left & congratulated me on my A for the course. Apparently, he weighted the final higher than previous exams because it was comprehensive. My calculus professor did much better than that. Apparently, he curved the final grades of the whole class by a LOT of points because I received a C. A final grade of C for a math course is the only low grade I will be happy with.

Now on to this semester. The class load is getting progressively more difficult. I am taking Physics I, Microbiology & Botany. This will be the last easier semester for me. This spring will begin the year & a half nightmare that is the final three semesters of a biology major. I am doing OK in the classes. So far, I have an A in Botany & a B in both the other courses. It is way too soon to call, but there's still hope to get a perfect 4.0 for this semester.

I'm also taking part in an independant research course studying a specific species of salamander. My zoology professor & Botany professor have been heading up the research for many years. The salamander we're studying is called the Peaks of Otter salamander. It belongs to the Plethodontidae family of lung-less salamanders. These salamanders actually breath through their skin which is not uncommon among some amphibians. The Peaks of Otter salamander is unique to only a few mountain tops of VA and is found nowhere else on the entire planet. We are trying to determine why these salamanders only occur at a certain elevation and on only a certain few mountains. There is a very similar species called the redback salamander that shares habitat and competes with the Peaks salamander. The redback occurs in higher elevations from North Carolina all the way to Canada, so it's a mystery why such similar species have such different ranges. It's pretty exciting work and I hope we are able to make some breakthroughs this year.