UD to Host Seventh Annual Apex
Apr 29, 2019 | University Relations staff
DUBUQUE, Iowa – University of Dubuque will honor undergraduate student research, service learning, and creativity at the seventh annual Spring Apex: Celebration of Student Scholarship and Creativity on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in the Charles and Romona Myers Center and Heritage Center. All events are free and open to the public.
Over 150 students with around 100 projects will participate in the celebration.
Bridgette Fidder (C’12), pinniped trainer at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, will present a keynote titled “Making Your Own Luck” at 10:45 a.m. in Room 146, Charles and Romona Myers Center.
Fidder earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from UD. After graduation, she learned the fundamentals to animal training during an internship at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium in the Marine Mammal Department. Fidder went on to earn a master’s degree in environmental toxicology at Texas Tech University. She published two peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals based on her thesis research titled, “The toxicological effects of pyraclostrobin on the energy allocation pattern of the freshwater gastropod, Lymnaea stagnalis.”
After graduate school, Fidder returned to her true passion: animal care. She was an animal care specialist at Shedd Aquarium for over three years and worked with Pacific white-sided dolphins and beluga whales. She is now a pinniped trainer at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta where she cares for California sea lions and harbor seals. As a trainer, Fidder works to build strong relationships with the animals and facilitate public awareness to the conservational needs of marine mammals.
Apex schedule is as follows:
7:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Posters and Presentations (Steffens Hall, Charles and Romona Myers Center)
10:45 a.m. to noon – Alumni Keynote Presentation (Room 146, Charles and Romona Myers Center)
12:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Posters and Presentations (Steffens Hall, Charles and Romona Myers Center)
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Launch of “The EDGE,” the annual student art show from the Department of Digital Art and Design (Charles and Elizabeth Bisignano Art Gallery, Heritage Center)
