In this episode, we hear from Dr. Robin Costello, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. Her dissertation research focused on the ecological causes and adaptive consequences of social behaviors in forked fungus beetles. Now, she conducts biology education research focused on how we can improve undergraduate biology courses. Here, Robin talks about a field season that went wrong for her after she finished her qualifying exam. Despite obstacles, Robin was able to persevere with the help of therapy and community, and learned that failure is often an important part of the process in research. Let’s listen!