This past semester has been a real period of growth in my life. In fact, that almost feels like an understatement. Personally, I have grown and changed as a person in this past semester more than I ever have in my life. But, one of the more important things I have learned came from my wildlife conservation and ecology class. 

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I want to do for a career, particularly deciding whether I should pursue a conservation career or a law enforcement career. I ended up choosing a major in wildlife ecology and conservation, but was very nervous if it was what I am meant to do with my life. After taking my first wildlife conservation and ecology class, I am sure that I am on the right path. I have never been so interested in and passionate about the subject matter of a class. But, the class brought me to another realization. 

I, recently, like most people in the U.S., watched the Netflix “Tiger King” documentary. While a lot of people promptly forgot about it after a week, it stuck with me. In the show, U.S. Fish and Wildlife arrests people who have harmed tigers and other animals. Since this was a combination of two fields I was interested in, I became intrigued. I found out that the agents have a lot of the same powers as the F.B.I. This is something I never really thought of. I began thinking about this as a possible future for me. 

Over the next couple weeks, my wildlife lectures talked about the laws and policies protecting the environment and endangered species as well as organizations that fight against wildlife crime. I began to realize that there were more options for me than I ever imagined.  I still do not know what I want to do, but I know that there are many, many options and I have plenty of time. I do hope, however, that I will one day protect wildlife through law enforcement and through advocating for better protections.

~Helen Dotchel