I would like to thank the academy!

Written 5/5/12

Throughout the semester I became known as the dramatic one who nearly lost her marbles on every exciting game drive.  Whenever we would receive a tip on a leopard in the area I would flip out only to be disappointed at my horrible luck with leopard sightings.  But when other students started spotting cheetah – my greatest passion – my drama level escalated.  In a quest to find my holy grail, I woke up at 4:45 each morning of this last week for every game drive.  On the last morning, we encountered a massive double-decker bus full of British tourists with their cameras working overtime.  They informed us there was a leopard lying in the grass.  Moments later, it rose from the grass and lo and behold – a gorgeous cheetah (the tourists were quite mistaken) was staring me in the eyes and I lost all composure as the tears began streaming down my face and my fellow classmates proceeded to laugh at me.  I admit, it may sound ridiculous that I cried, but for me it was the perfect moment at the end of an incredibly challenging, rewarding, and unforgettable semester.  Everything I have been working for has been fueled by the dream of working with cheetahs and big cats in the future, so to have this moment on the final day of the semester justified every struggle.

Later that day we presented our final research to the Kruger Park scientific staff – a day I had been dreading since I was accepted into the program a year ago.  Each presentation I gave during this semester was difficult for me.  I got through them but I could have done a lot better and was determined to do a stellar job for the final presentation.  But, when I saw the cheetah that same morning, I knew that nothing the rest of the day would stop me and that was all I needed to give me all the confidence in the world.  I felt amazing when my group stood in front of everyone to present.  We had a fantastic project and some fascinating (and significant!) results.  Much to my surprise, my turn came to speak and I was amazed at how comfortable I was.  I could have spoken forever.  I can honestly say that was one of the greatest days of my life.

After our final dinner, the staff awarded each of us with a unique “award” and I was given “The most dramatic game drives award…I would like to thank the academy!”  While I may have been a little overly dramatic at times, I think my unexpected reactions to many of my experiences with OTS in South Africa have shown me my intense love for wildlife and proven to me that this is where I am meant to be.  I would strongly encourage every one who may be considering applying to this program to do so.  It was a completely different semester than you would ever have on any college campus.  We spent every day outside in the African bush doing fieldwork and research that went right into the hands of South African National Parks staff.  I accomplished things I never thought I could.  From hiking along the mighty Mutale River searching for Nile crocodiles (and nearly getting taken by the rushing water several times) to conducting behavioral research on 16 different species of African mammals and presenting that research, I have come away from this experience a stronger person and a better scientist. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2012 at 8:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.