¡Buenas! Hi! My name is Olivia but my friends call me Livi, and you can, too. For the last nine months, I’ve lived in Panama, a small country in Central America. But I grew up in Oak Ridge, TN. I went to Oak Ridge High School, just like many of you will. My mom is still the librarian there, so say hello when you see her!
When I was your age, I loved spending time outside, especially going on hunting and fishing trips with my dad. In high school, I fell in love with turtles, snakes, frogs and salamanders–basically, anything with scales or slimy skin. I spent summers looking for them, walking through forests and peering into wetlands.
In college, I decided to study Environmental Science and Biology to learn more about these critters, so I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend Emory University. Through my classes, I learned that many of these animals are getting sick and dying from mysterious new diseases that have spread across the world. While people can take planes or boats, frogs can’t hop across the ocean. I started to wonder, why are frogs getting sick on every continent but Antarctica?
It turns out, humans have a hand in moving animals and plants far and wide.
