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Fairfax, VA
Senior majoring in Biology
Campus Involvement: Member of Radford University Wildlife Society and Radford Rugby Football club

As a child, Diego Kendall was deeply passionate about the natural world and all its wonders – from wildlife to ecosystems.  

“I always knew biology would be my calling,” Kendall said.

Although he began his college experience at a different institution, Kendall transferred to Radford University and was immediately impressed with all it had to offer.

“As a biology major, I am thrilled with the number of opportunities available,” he said. “From the Wildlife Society to SELU gardening to the Radford Amazonian Research Expedition (RARE) trip, the opportunities are everywhere.”

Among the many opportunities in which Kendall has participated is a study abroad trip to Peru through the RARE project. RARE provides a small group of undergraduate students with a unique chance to conduct original biological research in an Amazonian rainforest ecosystem. Two university professors, Jason Davis and Joy Caughron, spent three weeks with 10 students learning and exploring deep within the Peruvian jungle.

“As an environmental biologist, the RARE project is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that took me to an untouched ecosystem chocked full of life that people only see in magazines or in documentaries,” Kendall said. “The chance to research even one of these organisms is a dream come true, and I hope the experience will yield new data that will be valued by the scientific community.”

Kendall’s project is designed to examine the ecological roles of parasitoid wasps, which spend a portion of their life cycle parasitizing other insects. Through collection and dissection of various potential host insects, this experiment seeks to answer the following questions: are particular species of insect larvae more likely than others to be targeted by parasitoid wasps and what environmental features might relate to parasitization? In answering these questions, the role of parasitoids as biological control organisms can be better understood.     

Even while he is participating in a once-in-a-lifetime study abroad opportunity, Kendall knows he has to soon consider his future. He hopes to parlay his education into a career as a wildlife biologist, game warden or ecologist in Australia or South Africa.