(relaxing music)
-: Hi, I'm Erin Bauer and I'm a lecturer
in the Department of Entomology here at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
My primary responsibilities are as an academic advisor
and an instructor for our online
master's program in entomology.
I also serve as an entomology liaison
to the forensics department.
Basically I help some of the forensics students,
I do some labs to teach them about
what types of insects are found on bodies,
for instance at a crime scene.
Because insects can actually help in solving crime scenes
in a lot of different ways.
Help you with time of death and manner of death
and different things like that.
Ever since I was a little kid
I've really had an interest insects
and I do remember going to a zoo one time
and seeing a walking stick and my dad pointed it out to me
and I've been interested ever since.
I was probably only like two years old
and so I've always like been outdoors
playing with the insects.
That was just something I wanted
to pursue I guess as I got older
and it kind of came later in life though.
I got an undergraduate degree in education
and actually got a master's degree in library science first.
And then I later went on and got the M.S. in entomology
through the online program here at UNL
which is now what I'm also teaching.
Graduate students, they're already coming in
with that insect interest.
I like to see they always come to me and say,
oh, I didn't know that
or I really learned a lot in your course
or this is really going to help me in my profession
'cause a lot of the people that are in
our online courses are already full time.
So they might be teachers like science teachers
or they might be in the military,
they might be working in extension,
they might be working in labs,
but usually the master's degree will help them
gain extra knowledge that will help them
in whatever profession they're already working in.
(relaxing music)