Theresa
Zett

Theresa on a module trip to Donna Nook

"I really do love all of the modules, but the practical sessions were always the most enjoyable. Even if the weather wasn’t always the most pleasant, it was great to walk around the campus to survey wildlife or study the vegetation, and I always felt really lucky to have this great resource right there."

"As part of my placement, I am a Research Assistant for different organisations, including the HAZI foundation in Spain and the Ongava Research Centre in Namibia. They both do amazing conservation work on species that interest me, so I am very happy to have gotten the chance to work with them."

"The positions require me to do data analysis and collection remotely from home, including spatial analysis using GIS, mammal behaviour analysis and conducting literature reviews on certain species."

"There are many great things about my projects, one of them being that I am exposed to new challenges and topics almost daily, which encourages me to keep learning and increase my knowledge and research skills beyond what we have learned at university. I also get the chance to work with researchers from different fields within conservation, all of which have done great work and have been in conservation for many years."

"It never ceases to amaze me how willing they are to share their knowledge and experience, and give a student like me the chance to develop my own skills. The best thing is obviously that I am able to work on and for species that I love, and do my part to help in understanding and conserving them."

"My Research Assistant positions have certainly helped me feel more confident about my skills and personal value for a conservation project. There are many technical and scientific things I have learned, which we did not cover as part of the course, but I would still say the opportunity to work on real conservation projects, get an idea of how these things work and are developed, and interacting with researches who have done the job over many, many years, has helped far more. This will almost always help you to develop further and is important for your life outside of conservation as well."

"I would probably say the most valuable thing I have learned is that there are so many sides to conservation, so many different jobs in different fields and equally, people with a vast variety of passions and interests. It has been truly inspiring to meet researchers and fellow students with enthusiasms about all kinds of topics from lichen over marsupials to large carnivores like me, and see how they all contribute in their own way to conserving biodiversity in all its forms ways help you to develop further and is important for your life outside of conservation as well."

"My long-term plan is to work in conservation within Africa, as this has been a childhood dream and the reason I chose to study wildlife conservation. I am interested in large carnivores, particularly hyaenas, so anything related to them would be fantastic! A job that includes community development and engagement would also be great, as this is sadly often overlooked despite it being very important for long-term successes!"