Nick Hassink began working with arthropods during his undergraduate degree as he led a project in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada that examined the influence of temperature and precipitation on the abundance of Lygus bugs is dryland Canola crops. While completing his undergraduate degree, Nick was also involved in a biocontrol program run by Alberta Invasive Species Council which used foreign varieties of herbivorous beetles to control outbreaks of invasive weeds at ecologically sensitive locations. While conducting his M.Sc. at the University of Lethbridge, his thesis focused on modelling thermal heterogeneity across temperate mountain environments in a context that was meaningful for surface-dwelling arthropods. Throughout his Master’s degree, Nick gained experience related to arthropod identification, operating equipment in remote mountain terrain, habitat suitability modelling, and scientific writing and reporting.