ABSTRACT
For as long as I can remember, I have had a sense of wonder and interest in the behavior of animals, especially marine life. I officially began studying animal behavior as a college student at the University of Arizona where I majored in ecology and evolutionary biology and took classes like animal behavior and marine biology to explore my passion. After my second year, I participated in an Earthwatch program in Hawaii that offered a combination of training and research on dolphin cognition. This two-week program introduced me to greater possibilities involving animal behavior and cognition research. While I was there, I heard about Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s parrot cognition lab at the University of Arizona. I did not even realize this lab was at my school because it was in a different department! From the next semester through graduation, I assisted with the care of an African grey parrot and budgerigar in Dr. Pepperberg’s lab and worked on several projects studying their cognitive abilities. I also continued searching for different opportunities and received a summer internship at Mote Marine Laboratory involving husbandry and research with two manatees. These experiences allowed me to practice animal behavior work in different settings and develop my research skillset, and helped me decide to pursue graduate school to further explore careers involving animal behavior.
