Growing up, I did well inmath and science — areas I was told repeatedly I was special todo well in. I felt a sense of rarity, and thought, “If I’m good in these, when others struggle, then this is where I should direct my life.”

By the time I arrived in college, it did notoccur to me to studyanything other than science. I loved nature, was heartsick about habitat destruction and the seeming disregard and disrespect humans had for our own habitat, andI wanted to pursue a paththat would apply my science aptitude to helping the environment.

Many times, the first step to helping is understanding. You must know how a system works, what it needs, and how its needs are not beingmet in order to help make the system healthy again. So I pursued a degree in ecology, the study of the interactions among living things and their environment.