International Sea Turtle Symposium 2017

I was privileged to attend the 2017 International Sea Turtle Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This trip was associated with my Capstone Conservation Biology course. It was a beneficial experience for me to attend and meet professional biologists. Sea turtles are a growing interest of mine of late. This interest stems from a book that I have recently purchased titled Saving Sea Turtles, written by James R. Spotila. I found this book on a trip to San Diego with the Biology Department last Fall. I did not know at the time, but my professor of Conservation Biology, Laurie Mauger, was a graduate student of Spotila. At the conference, she was able to introduce me to him and other notable sea turtle biologists. Having met with these professionals, I am even more excited about applying for a volunteer position with their organizations. There are three locations that I am looking into; Costa Rica, Bioko, and Mozambique. I feel like it would be an incredible experience to work on sea turtle conservation in any of these locals. It would be a great building block in becoming a well rounded biologist with valuable field work and unique research opportunities. Experiences that I can one day share in a classroom setting as I pursue a career in being a professor of biological studies.