Before I started elementary school, every week my mother would take me to the local library. I would go to the nonfiction children’s section and collect a stack of books on whatever topic I had chosen to fixate on that week. These topics were almost always animals. I remember a specific instance where a spider had jumped off my bed and startled me. I was appalled that spiders could jump. My poor mother spent the next two weeks reading spider books to me to satiate my new curiosity. As I got older this love of the natural world did not disappear. I brought earthworms to show and tell and taught my classmates how to care for these animal- much to my teacher’s dismay. I would spend playtime outside collecting bugs in my bug keeper and tracking what areas of my backyard certain species spent the most time.
It was no surprise when life sciences became my favorite subject in school. In high school, I counted down the days until I could apply for the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Academy, a local partnership between the zoo and surrounding school districts. I would consider Zoo Academy to be one of the best experiences of my life. It exposed me to a whole community of people with the same passion for the Earth. I discovered career pathways that I never knew existed. Through Zoo Academy, I realized I wanted to be a research biologist focused on conservation. I fell in love with research during my years competing at the district and state science fairs. I hope to continue to participate in undergraduate research and eventually go on to earn my PhD in Biology. My dream is to conduct research that helps conserve our planet and it’s inhabitants for the wellbeing and future of us all.
It was no surprise when life sciences became my favorite subject in school. In high school, I counted down the days until I could apply for the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Academy, a local partnership between the zoo and surrounding school districts. I would consider Zoo Academy to be one of the best experiences of my life. It exposed me to a whole community of people with the same passion for the Earth. I discovered career pathways that I never knew existed. Through Zoo Academy, I realized I wanted to be a research biologist focused on conservation. I fell in love with research during my years competing at the district and state science fairs. I hope to continue to participate in undergraduate research and eventually go on to earn my PhD in Biology. My dream is to conduct research that helps conserve our planet and it’s inhabitants for the wellbeing and future of us all.