Dallas Flickinger originally went to Southern Illinois University – Carbondale to get a degree in Zoology because he wanted to do conservation work with turtles. He soon found out that this line of work is not abundant and he shifted his focus to studies related to aquatic ecology. He earned his BS and moved on to Middle Tennessee State University for a MS because work was difficult to find during that time period . One day he decided that aquaculture would be his last chance to have a career. At the same time, he wanted to do something unique. He e-mailed Wagner Valenti one late night to see if there were any scholarships in Brazil to do a doctorate. To his shock Wagner e-mailed back within ten minutes and the rest is history. He lived and worked in Brazil for nearly ten years before returning to the United States. Dallas now has a doctorate of science in aquaculture and is a professor of aquaculture at Lincoln University of Missouri.