Central Pura Vida
Story By: Grace Benson ’26
What do bats and prairies have in common? According to Russ Benedict, professor of biology at Central College, their critically endangered statuses reflect the gradual decline of Midwestern ecosystems — and the need for students to learn about them. While bats and prairies have captured Benedict’s academic attention, Central students have been at the heart of his work since he first came to Pella more than 20 years ago.
Benedict and his colleagues in the biology program offer courses in mammalogy, ornithology, field botany, limnology and more. Alumni who graduate from the biology program go on to teach in high schools, practice as doctors, optometrists, dentists and researchers and work for state governments and nonprofit organizations to protect important habitats.
“Our biology major is intentionally broad,” Benedict explains. “Yes, medicine is a fantastic opportunity. But there are other options, too.”
Due to his passion for field work and conservation, one of Benedict’s favorite classes to teach is Tropical Ecology. The class meets once a week during the fall semester and departs for an exploratory trip to Costa Rica and Belize during the Winter Break. Benedict’s is one of many courses at Central that includes a faculty-led trip abroad as part of the curriculum.
Benedict recalls the moment when inspiration for the class first struck.
“When I was a student, I took a similar kind of class, and I remember standing out in the ocean in Belize at one point and thinking, ‘One of these days, I’m going to be a professor, and I’m going to do this.’”
During the fall, Benedict’s Tropical Ecology students study the specific species and habitats they expect to encounter in Costa Rica and Belize. Preparation in the classroom enables them to arrive at their tropical destinations with a clearer sense of direction.
After the semester comes to a close, the group travels to Costa Rica where they gain scientific and cultural insights into the diversity that makes Costa Rica the tropical destination it is today. To conclude the trip, they travel to Belize to observe the second largest barrier reef in the world. Activities throughout the experience include hiking, conducting research and snorkeling in the ocean.
This past year, environmental and sustainability studies major Kayla Lindquist ’25 had the opportunity to take Benedict’s course. When asked about her favorite moment from the trip, she recounts, “We were on a hike in Palo Verde, and we saw species of katydids living in holes and little limestones. We were looking for bats, and we heard a noise. It was a katydid with a blue face. I’ve never seen that before, so I looked it up and tried to figure out what species it was.”
The group continued their hike before Lindquist could identify the katydid, but she couldn’t let the mysterious species go. She brought the matter up to Benedict, who brought her back to the same spot later that day.
“We did this whole research-type documentation,” Lindquist explains. “We grabbed one and looked at it to take pictures of every identification-type feature you would need. That kind of one-on-one experience with your professor is pretty special.”
No matter their major, all students benefit from the experiences from hands-on courses like these. Kaylee Peiffer ’25, an art and English double major, dreams of becoming a children’s book illustrator. She enrolled in Benedict’s class to fulfill her science credit before graduating and brought her own unique perspective to the Costa Rica and Belize experiences.
“Everyone was really welcoming and looked at things from different perspectives,” Peiffer shares. “They’d be looking at the science stuff and I’d say, ‘Oh, that’d be really cool to paint or draw or write a story about it.’”
The rainforest diversity stunned Peiffer, who feels grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore Costa Rica and Belize as part of Benedict’s class. In fact, the trip inspired Peiffer to sign up for a similar class with two other professors who teach in the biology and communications programs. The class traveled to Iceland at the end of May 2024 to study the stories and people that make up Icelandic culture.
Thanks to professors like Benedict, students like Lindquist and Peiffer gain valuable experiences in the classroom and abroad through their Central education. The number of faculty-led trips that offer students interdisciplinary perspectives on the world continues to grow each year. Stepping foot on Central’s campus opens the door to a world of travel, new experiences and endless possibilities.