I fiercely recruited Maria (she/her) to work with me in Dr. Andrew Carlson’s lab during my Ph.D. As soon as I met her, when she was a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar with the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, I knew we could do great work together. We have now worked on numerous research projects and I am a better scientist and stronger mentor thanks to her. Maria received her M.Sc. degree at Auburn, currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Florida International University.