“As an undergrad, I cannot overstate the value of exposure to a field’s greater community. Experiencing an international conference (especially with a graduate student guide) helped me believe my stomach might not always drop when asked the question that haunts undergraduates everywhere: “So what are your plans, post-college?” I realized that everyone there had once felt as clueless as I did, and that they each found unique paths through it. I was able to meet (remarkably kind) scientists from all over both the field and the world, each of them providing guidance in ways I desperately need. I would not have been able to afford attending the conference if not for the generous funding from the SSE, which means I wouldn’t have simultaneously felt welcomed into my future and learned that the spermatophore of a male cabbage white butterfly is broken down in the female using what is essentially a uterus with teeth. If that isn’t a necessary experience for every undergraduate student, I don’t know what is.”