AL FOURNIER

I was born and grew up in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. My favorite subjects in high school were English and Literature (not biology!). As a senior, I won first place in the annual poetry contest. After high school, I went to work full time while completing an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts part time at Oakland Community College. It was an introductory biology course for non-majors there that first sparked my interest in biology. In 1990, I moved to Greenbelt, Maryland, and transferred to George Washington University, completing my Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1992. Two days after commencement, I began my work as a graduate student of entomology here at the University of Maryland (and I've always regretted not taking a vacation!). I completed my Masters of Science Degree in May 1997, after completing my thesis on the predator ecology of the sod webworm moth in turfgrass. During my years here at University of Maryland, I have had many great experiences. The most influential of these was my experience as a teaching assistant in the biology program. For five semesters I taught biology 102 labs, also serving as lab coordinator during the Spring 1995 semester. I have particularly enjoyed working with students who are not science majors because I feel their varied perspectives and interests have broadened the way I think about and interpret the implications of scientific theory.

I am currently employed as a Faculty Research Assistant in the Entomology Department, where I assist Betty Marose, the Agricultural IPM coordinator, with weed competition research in soybeans. However, this Fall, I have shifted most of my energy into teaching biology 101, which has been an enormously enriching experience. I am currently seeking full time employment as a biology instructor at the community college level.