June 2025 ENT Student of the Month: Ellie Stokes

I am a proud transfer student from Oakland California, having completed the first year of my undergrad at Laney Community College, my second year at Oregon State University, and my last two years here at UC Davis. I have had a huge fascination with insects and other small organisms for as long as I can remember, which led me to the Entomology program here at UC Davis. In my time here, I have helped at the Sih Lab under Richard Szeligowski on Day Gecko behavioral assays, worked in the General Chemistry Dispensary, and Interned with the Bohart Museum of Entomology. I also enjoyed taking almost every entomology class available and getting to know my fellow entomologists and the amazing professors in the department. 

Post-graduation, I plan to live out my lease in Davis while continuing my internship with the Bohart Museum and helping at the Sih Lab. After the summer, I am going to move back in with my family in Oakland, then eventually find my own apartment around there. I don’t have any specific career goals yet, but I would like to spend the next year or two looking into graduate school, working in interesting places, and teaching myself how to tattoo.

As someone who has always had an interest in insects and small organisms, being an Entomology student has been a dream come true by giving me the opportunity to have a lot of fun while learning and gaining an undergraduate degree. I really value the experience I have gained in various niche entomological topics and careers, and the knowledge I have learned will continue to inspire me to keep identifying and observing insects in my free time. I am so grateful to have spent the last two years of my undergraduate education in this Major, and I can’t wait to see where this degree will take me!