"Fish class" as we liked to call it, was one of the best biology courses I have taken at UVA. During the course, you spend the majority of your time out in the field trying to sein, fly-fish, electrofish, or simply snorkel, in order to identify new species in the 10 watersheds of Virginia. You will be able to identify the fish by there common and Latin names by the end of the course. My classmates and I were no fish experts, but we enjoyed the chaos of chugging back an espresso shot (any time of the day) and wading through the streams of Virginia together. In your free time, you can enjoy time up at Mountain Lake hammocking, canoeing on the little pond, reading, and getting to know the other REUs up there; on the weekends you can head into Blacksburg and get yourself coffee or something nice. Professor Neely is really a great guy and a knowledge fisherman; our class jokingly called him Doctor Dave since he seemed so wise compared to us armatures. But truly, he really just wants you to enjoy your time learning about fish. Finally, you will be able to do fun one-day trips sometimes such as caving with the salamanders, hiking Cascade Falls, and walking with the ponies at Grayson Highlands. I really recommend this course even if you've never fished in your life!