Lessons learned through annual biology trips

Amidst the surging waves and stinging rain, the former sailboat sputtered its way through the furious Caribbean on an emergency diesel engine. The tropical storm had already shredded the sails and maligned the mast of the small vessel, and now it threatened to dishearten the crew. Captained by Dr. Gary Wallace, the boat kept afloat the lives of aspiring biologists from Milligan College.

Wallace, professor of biology, originally planned the trip as a snorkeling expedition to explore the corral reefs in the Caribbean. His plans changed, however, the first night when rain, which would persist nearly a week, began to soak spirits. This storm not only rendered some students’ Dramamine useless, but more seriously it claimed the lives of 18 experienced sailors on a fishing boat nearby.

Though Dr. Wallace never wavered, his crew occasionally expressed doubt. One student, terrified of water flooding the cabin while he slept, strapped himself to the remaining half of the mast, like Odysseus preparing to face the sirens. One girl, over whose stomach the sea held dictatorial power, told Dr. Wallace with as brave a tone as she could muster, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” Even in such grim circumstances, Wallace, always the teacher, knew there was a lesson to be learned.

Years earlier in 1967, Wallace arrived at Milligan through the recommendation of a fellow colleague at the University of Tennessee. Dean Oakes hired him on the spot but made Milligan’s purpose clear to the new biology professor when he said, “Any research you do comes out of your hide. This is a teaching institution.” And so Wallace began to teach.

His first office helped him better identify with the students since it resided in Pardee Hall. Wallace quickly learned that he needed flexibility at a small college because at Milligan he was required to teach subjects outside his realm of specialization. This never deterred him, however, because he loved his students and colleagues.

In the classroom Wallace noticed that although students must cram some information into their heads through written memorization, it’s best to use hands-on techniques whenever possible. This concept led to the first BARF trip in 1972 on the waters off Ocean City, Maryland. Wallace and fellow colleague Dr. Richard Lura, professor of chemistry, named the trip in retrospect after noting the green faces of eight participating students. The name also had some biological significance as an acronym: Birds, Aquatic mammals, Research Foray.

Over the years students have received more from the trips than just a pale face. One sophomore student, who sacrificed his grades to ace class clowning, finally realized what he wanted to do with his life after his adventure with Wallace. The student completely turned around his collegiate career, making straight A’s his junior and senior years. He went on to earn his doctorate in botany and is now the assistant herbarium director at the University of Tennessee.

Wallace uses this story to illustrate how each student is different. He believes that professors must have patience and look for alternatives to reach students.

The Caribbean crisis proved such an alternative. After Wallace successfully led the emotionally and physically exhausted students back to Miami, they began to realize what the trip had taught them. At a rest stop on the way home, a group of the students approached Dr. Wallace and said, “This trip wasn’t what we thought it was going to be, but we learned a lot about ourselves.”

So apart from viruses, photosynthesis and rose-breasted grosbeaks, Wallace equips students for life by teaching them to study themselves.