In the big world of biology and its many disciplines, it's ecology that has become a passion for Sally Wilson at Kenyon, and it was the big world of Kenyon connections that helped her accomplish a successful internship at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

She became a research assistant at the museum this summer, joining a team of curators, project managers, designers, and content developers building an exhibit to open next year about how science can be used to protect natural habitats and species. "Much of the application process was reliant on my academic achievement and experiences at Kenyon," Wilson said.

Her road to Chicago passed through a Kenyon classroom and nature preserve. An ecology class taught by Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew J. Kerkhoff and summer work as a volunteer garden hand with Patricia A. Heithaus, instructor of biology at the Brown Family Environmental Center, steered Wilson to her area of interest and focused her goals. "They made me aware that the part of biology I loved most was studying interactions between and among species in their environments," she said.

Summers sharing "wooly white aphids" and other organic treasures with Heithaus led to a contact with Field Museum exhibition employee Gretchen Baker '97, a former Heithaus student, who welcomed Wilson for a spring-break visit that concluded with an internship interview. "The experience gave me a new perspective on museums and their multifaceted missions," Wilson said. "Museums are places of scholarly research, education and community outreach, as well as sources of entertainment."

The Alumni Office made a connection with Chicago resident Christopher Bloom '73, P '04, '09, whose family provided a summer home for her within a six-mile bike ride of the museum.

The Field Museum is home to more than 21 million specimens—including the largest known Tyrannosaurus fossil. Wilson was introduced to a "completely foreign world," exposing her to collections and artifacts not readily available to the public. A memorable moment was entering a room where carrion-eating bugs prepared the skeletal remains of birds. "It was like walking into a scene from a science fiction movie," she said.

Much of her research centered on the sustainability practices of indigenous tribes of South America—an examination aided by the biology major's minor in sociology. "An understanding of both biological and sociological concepts was vital to my internship," Wilson said. "Even though Kenyon does not offer a museum-study course, it prepared me with a strong background in the natural and social sciences to complete any and all tasks assigned."