This year, Western Field Ornithologists (WFO) was proud to sponsor the 2025 Frontiers in Ornithology Student Symposium, which took place on October 4 in Seattle, Washington. The symposium focuses on educating and inspiring students to pursue avian research and careers in ornithology, conservation science, and related academic and professional pursuits.
Two of WFO’s members, Lara Tseng and Song Han Ngo, were student keynote presenters at the symposium. Both are active on WFO’s Student Programs Committee and have been featured in previous issues of WFO’s newsletter: Meet Lara Tseng (Summer 2023); Meet Song Han Ngo (Winter 2025).
Lara’s presentation was titled, “Flight Paths: How Birds Inspired My Interest in Research, Museums, and Academia.”
“My keynote focused on the concept of how differing flight paths can take us to where we want to go, and how birds have shaped my interest and pursuit of research, museums, and academia,” she said. “I talked about two of my research projects: calcium consumption in the breeding cycles of western bluebirds, and the impact of climatic fluctuations on feather wear and pigmentation in yellow warblers.”
“However,” she added, “what I think made the greatest impression was my discussion of non-traditional academic pathways. I was glad that my story resonated with many other young birders and their mentors, and I hope that at least one of the opportunities I mentioned might be new or interesting to some of them.”
Lara Tseng presenting her student keynote presentation at the 2025 Frontiers in Ornithology Student Symposium. Photo: Mollee Brown.
Song Han’s keynote was titled, “A Highschooler’s Journey Into Quantitative Ornithology: Where Computer Science Meets Birds.”
“I talked about incorporating computer science into my birding journey, contributing to ornithology projects that contained elements of modeling and big data analysis. This included building algorithms that could identify bird calls (similar to Merlin Bird ID), and using large datasets to study migratory bird behavior on a continental scale,” he said.
“Something that really moved me was all the enthusiastic young birders,” said Song Han. “I’ve always been used to seeing maybe five other young birders at most birding events, but at the symposium there were at least forty. It was heartwarming to see so many of us together, and to be able to share my own story with them. The most memorable moment for me was after my keynote when a student walked up to me, said that she shared my same interests of birds and computer science, and had found my presentation inspiring.”
Song Han Ngo delivering his student keynote presentation at the 2025 Frontiers in Ornithology Student Symposium. Photo: Mollee Brown.
Both Lara and Song Han were honored to give student keynote presentations and to share their personal stories and experiences with other students.
“Overall, the symposium was an amazing experience,” said Song Han. Lara agreed: “There were many excellent talks about a whole variety of career paths that one can take with birds, ranging from art to government to museums. The diversity of pathways that one can take with their love of birds was really well-represented at this symposium.”
Symposium speakers, including Song Han Ngo (standing, third from left) and Lara Tseng (standing, right), and Frontiers in Ornithology Association board members. Photo: courtesy of Frontiers in Ornithology Student Symposium.
WFO sponsors activities like the Frontiers in Ornithology Symposium to further encourage and support the next generation of ornithologists. Special thanks to everyone who donated to the recent Birdathon and year-end fundraising efforts, allowing WFO to support not only our own scholarships and research grants but also support events like this symposium and the CECAM conference in Mexico.
Learn more about WFO’s Student Programs on the WFO website.
Congratulations to both Lara and Song Han on their presentations, and we look forward to following their careers!
November 2025 | Lauren Smith, Newsletter Editor