Imagine an animal that can swim through the roughest surf of the ocean and also walk on land. They have powerful jaws and big claws. They can dive 100 meters deep into the sea, or they can fall off a cliff and keep running. They’re happy underneath the hot sun or in the ice cold wind. They live in the most remote places on the planet in groups so large they’re practically cities. Is it a mythical creature? No, it’s a penguin.
There is nothing more captivating than watching an animal. Growing up in the United States, I loved to run around in the woods to find frogs, turtles, fish, snakes, and anything I could get my hands on. When I was in college, I had the chance to meet an animal I’d only dreamed of: An african penguin. I worked at the aquarium helping take care of the african penguins by feeding them, training them, and cleaning their enclosure. Penguins can poop 8 times every hour, so there was always something to clean in the penguin exhibit.
I fell in love with these dense little birds, and now I’m in Tasmania to study them and the oceans where they live! For my master’s degree, I’m learning about how we can use governments and laws to protect the oceans and ensure penguins can keep living their weird and crazy lives in some of Earth’s most faraway places.
I’m here to tell you that as a “scientist”, you can study much more than just one thing. As a scientist, I’ve studied frogs, cared for penguins, studied medicine, traveled the world, worked in an ambulance, casted broken legs, and I’m just getting started! If you have passion and dedication, science will take you to amazing places.
