Not many people can say they had the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as their playground during their childhood. I grew up in Cody, Wyoming, where I became enthralled with the outdoors. Monthly family trips as well as periodic school functions allowed me to dive deep into the field of ecology. After graduating from Cody High School in 2013, I obtained my Associate’s of Science in Natural Resource Biology at Northwest College in Powell, WY, in May 2015. There, with my mentor Eric Atkinson, my interest in birds began to grow thanks to two independent projects. After earning my Associates, I continued directly to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. I worked in the University’s Wildlife Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit on a project involving parental care behaviors of Sage Thrashers. In August 2017, I was officially awarded by Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology. The species native to the montane environment that I had grown up loving and knew so well was soon to change as I moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida and was submerged in a coastal ecosystem. I interned at Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge from 2017-2018, and after 700 dedicated hours, I learned medicinal practices and husbandry standards for all forms of taxa. Encountering nearly 1,000 patients yearly, I saw first-hand the heavy and sometimes heart-wrenching affects human activity has on wildlife. Examples include squirrels caught by dogs, turtles crushed by cars, and pelicans swallowing fish hooks. Within this frequently dim environment though, I also noted the intense devotion citizens have for these injured animals, as sometimes they must drive over an hour to deliver them to our medical clinic. Yet again my comfortable biome changed as my family moved to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. Here, due to foreign work laws, I had to step away from wildlife biology and aid the community through customer service positions. In 2018 I worked as a Front Desk Attendant at the Britannia Inn, and in 2020 I worked as a Store Associate in the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), and balanced all grocery needs as an employee. I strengthened my customer service and cashier abilities daily, and became trusted with opening and closing the facility. My family has since returned to the Emerald Coast in April 2021, and while I am again aiding wildlife at the Emerald Coast Widlife Refuge - this time as a Wildlife Technician, and I am looking forward to once again harnessing and sharpening my ecological skills.
Listed skills include Ornithology, Zoology, Biology, Undergraduate Research, and 5 others.