Mike C. John (2009)
From a “Focus on Ecologists” maintained by the ESA Education Office about 2009-2011.
| Full Name | Mike C. John |
| Degree | PhD |
| Job Position | Associate Professor |
| Organization | Bethune-Cookman College |
| Department | Biology Department of Science and Mathematics |
| Professional Affiliation | Academic |
| Briefly describe your job path. | During my undergraduate years, I was influenced into taking ecology courses by a professor who envisioned ecological pursuits as becoming increasingly important as human intervene and damage the environment. |
| Who or what inspired you to become a scientist (or other profession)? | Learning about the abrupt disappearance of plant and animal species with the introduction of pesticides and other toxins into the environment. My botany professor. |
| What is the most valuable advice a mentor gave you or that you would offer to someone who’d like to do the same job as you? | When approached by students facing difficulties, I repeat my mother`s famous maxim “no cross, no crown”. Difficulties disappear with this in mind. I was trained in plant and animal biology, and teach general biology, comparative vertebrate anatomy and ecology. Follow your passion, foster the message of ecology, and let us a global family preserve what is left of our planet. |