I did pretty well in both of those classes and got to know the teacher pretty well, so in my third year of college, I started working for him as a researcher. In this research we looked at coyotes and how the urban landscape of Los Angeles was affecting the genetics of these animals, or how they are related to one another. This project ultimately caused me to fall in love with research. I really enjoyed all parts of it, from being in the field and collecting samples to analyzing them in the lab and running experiments.
When I was getting ready to finish up college, I started looking at what I would go on to do next. I thought about going on to do more school, but I didn’t really want to do that yet and wanted a chance to get out in the real world to go somewhere new. I decided to apply to the Fulbright program which would give me the opportunity to study in a different country. I ended up proposing to work in Slovenia, a country in Eastern Europe, just to the right of Italy, studying brown bears. I didn’t think my application would be accepted, but I was fortunate enough to have that be the case, and so that brought me to where I am today. I’m working on similar research with brown bears to the research that I did with coyotes in Los Angeles, but now I’m working in a very new and unique environment and culture and on an animal that allows my research to be more meaningful, as bears are a more threatened species and of greater conservation concern. I hope that my current research will be able to help better the future of these fascinating animals!
