Katherine Hill

During the summer of 2024, I worked with the HERS Lab at Oregon State University setting up Petterson D500x acoustic monitors across Washington state. Most of this work required 4x4 driving conditions, hiking, as well as off trail map navigation. My team also had the opportunity to work with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on their "Bat Probiotic Project."

The SURE program allowed me to do hands-on fieldwork where we completed transect data to gain insight into the native bat populations in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. This was a very enlightening experience as it allowed me to broaden my knowledge on fieldwork while also inspiring my Capstone research. A highlight of this work was reporting the endangered, and federally protected species Mytotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat).

As a Shift Lead at an animal boarding facility, I had a lot of responsibilities and experience in animal care, as well as customer service. Daily tasks included, feeding the animals, administering medications (whether they are oral or injections), cleaning after animals (mainly dogs and cats, as well as rabbits), scrubbing of animal runs, and office work such as answering emails, voicemails, and taking tours.

Over the summer of 2022 I had my first introduction to hands on bat work at Lubee Bat Conservancy. During this time I learned to care for a wide variety of bats, mostly megabats, by helping prepare their diets, enrichment, completing daily cleaning, and drawing of medication. It was inspiring seeing each of their individual personalities and behaviors, which then shaped the rest of my college and future career.