About Me

About me:

From the moment I heard of W&J and their Magellan Project, I knew I wanted to go to this school and do one. W&J has so many amazing opportunities for students to travel and that is exactly what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. My Magellan topic is “the differences in wildlife and environmental policies between Australia and New Zealand” and there are many reasons as to why I chose this particular topic. Ever since I was a little girl I loved any animal I have ever known or came in contact with. I was always playing outside in the creek and woods behind my house. I always made sure none of my friends or family would kill any animals, including the harmless little ants. My favorite animal used to be sea turtles after I swam with them while snorkeling in Hawaii in sixth grade. Being next to these giant peaceful animals was an eye opening experience. Normally on land we feel like the big ones, the ones that smaller animals are afraid of. But in the water, the majority of the wildlife is bigger than us and could harm us, yet they let us live in harmony with them while swimming, snorkeling, diving, etc. This experience made me fall even more in love with all animals. Ever since then whenever we visit new places, I want to go to a zoo, snorkel, go hiking, or any other activity that gets me closer to nature and different wildlife.

My passion for all types of animals since I was a little kid made me want to be a Veterinarian when I grew up. That is why I chose Washington & Jefferson College, because of their prestigious pre-med/ pre-health programs. I stayed with this mentality for a while until I realized I could never operate on animals, if I lost one I would never be able to move on from it. So I decided to just have a plethora of pets when I grow up: fish, cats, dogs, bunnies, etc. This however does not satisfy my love for wild animals such as elephants, tigers, koalas, kangaroos, lions, giraffes, and more. This is why I want to do a Magellan on wild animals such as the ones aforementioned. Learning more about each of the animals and studying how we has man kind can protect them from becoming endangered or disappearing as a whole is what I want to gain from this project.

I chose Australia and New Zealand for a number of reasons. I have always wanted to travel to these countries; they are on the top of my bucket list. I love traveling and my dream is to travel the world. I went to Italy for an intersession class, and this is something I had wanted to do from the moment I committed to being a member of the class of 2019 here at W&J. I am happy I followed through with my dream and made it happen. It also made me realize, that with the help of Washington & Jefferson College, I can achieve my other dreams as well. This is where the Magellan project comes in to play. By traveling to Australia and New Zealand I get to travel to two places on my bucket list while studying my love for wild animals and learning how to give them protection against exploitations and annihilation they so very much need. All two of these countries pride themselves in their wildlife. Well over half of the wildlife in Australia is native to the country, which makes it a unique place to study the endemic animals that you can find nowhere else such as kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies. This is also true for New Zealand, making it another unique place to study wildlife. Comparing the wildlife in these countries shows the differences in climate and origin that caused such species to be so different from each other.

By completing this research project, I hope that I can help make an impact on animal awareness here at W&J and hopefully to more people around the world by blogging about my experiences. The world needs to start taking care of these magnificent animals or else they will disappear for good. They were the first inhabitants of this world, and yet we continue to take their lives. After I graduate from Washington & Jefferson College, I plan on conducting research on endangered animals, or becoming part of some sort of law enforcement that would have the power to enforce such protectant laws for the animals, or something with psychology. This project would help give me the experience to do my first research on my own, and learn how to interact with people of different countries and continents which would help the psychology part of my future plan. By conducting this research project, I will learn more innovative ideas of how to save different types of wildlife, and how to apply that in their unique environments. I can make more people aware of the dangers of their actions and hopefully slow down and eventually stop the disappearance of endangered species. All in all this Magellan research project will fulfill my life dreams, give me experience in independent research, solidify my people skills which will help me in anything I do in life, and make a difference to wildlife as a whole one animal at a time.