Major: Biology with the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior focus area
Hometown: San Anselmo, California
On choosing his major: I am very passionate about herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles) and would love to study in this field post-graduation.
Proudest accomplishment at Behrend: My proudest accomplishment while at Behrend would be the research I have done involving biofluorescence in salamanders. For this project, I documented the trait of biofluorescence in spotted salamanders and red-spotted newts and how the patterns of biofluorescence change through early stages of development.
Awards and recognition: I won an award for first place at the Sigma Xi (Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment) Conference in 2023 for a presentation on my research with biofluorescence in larval stage salamanders.
His passion: I have a strong interest in both reptiles and amphibians, and I enjoy spending a lot of my free time flipping logs in search of them.
Holden plans to get a master’s degree in biology at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.