Growing up, one of my favorite television shows was the Nickelodeon show called 'The Wild Thornberrys.' My favorite character was the youngest daughter, Eliza. Eliza was nerdy, smart, and adventurous. She was always helping others in need, which most of the time happened to be animals. An amazing thing about Eliza was her gift to talk to animals. This is a gift that I wish to this day I could have. When my family asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up my response was always something working with wild animals. Deep down I was determined to be the real life Eliza Thornberry, and I just needed to find a way to talk to animals.

As I got older I realized that talking to animals wasn't going to happen, so I had to find a different way to help them. For a good part of my childhood I lived in a hunting cabin in the woods with awful cable reception so I spent a lot of time outside. During my adventures in the woods I would pretend to be Eliza and have my little sister be her pet chimp, Darwin. It wasn't until an ignorant bully at the bus stop was killing monarch butterflies that I found my way to help animals. I was going to help them by separating myth from fact. I was going to somehow show people that animals weren't supposed to be killed if we didn't know what purpose they had but rather protected.

I didn't have an exact name for what I wanted to do until I was in middle school. The career I set out for was a Naturalist. That way I could educate people about the animals they share the world with through programs and activities for all ages. When it was time to apply for colleges, I didn't know what major to select because they didn't just have a "check here if you want to be a Naturalist box." My dad helped me and we found that a Wildlife biology major would best suit me and I could have more choices career wise. The college I chose was actually known for their Wildlife Biology program. I was so excited to attend my college.

My major requires that students take five special field biology courses. So far I have taken six and don't plan on stopping any time soon. These classes were and are my favorite because I get so much hands-on experience with animals. I fed baby squirrels, held a four month old raccoon, and had a GIANT orbweaver spider centimeters away from my face. My advisor helped me see that I could do so much more than being a naturalist and now I have dreams of being a doctor of ornithology.

My professor saw my passion and encouraged me to attend a conference that the Wildlife Society was putting on. Wildlife biologists from all areas were going to be there and there were going to be workshops to get our feet wet. I couldn't sign up fast enough. At the conference I touched a timber rattlesnake, overcoming my fear of snakes. I talked to a really nice ecologist who wrote a paper I read in class. Most importantly, the conference made me even more determined to get my degree so I could help animals by teaching the public through my research.

I may not be able to talk to animals but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be a real life Eliza Thornberry one day soon