Saving baby orphan animals. Wbu?

My name is Shannon and I've been passionate about animals and wildlife since my early years watching David Attenborough documentaries with my grandparents. I would watch in awe and say "I wanna do that!", and boy am I determined to do so!

I want to travel the world and make as big a difference as my man David Attenborough (or try at least!). The dream is to work with different environmental/wildlife projects on every continent and have a positive influence on the people around me!

Gaining proper experience in the conservation sector is rather difficult and it is one of the only job sectors where you have to pay for experience! (This is where you guys come in, but I will get to that soon!)

^^^ (cheeky photo from my time in SA) ^^^

My life has been pretty m e n t a l, to say the least. I was born 6 weeks early and addicted to heroin due to being born into a family with parents suffering from addiction. This led to me being passed around an assortment of family members and several (terrible) foster care homes.
I spent a portion of my young life looking after my mother and my younger sister as my mother was too afflicted by this horrible disease to be able to care for us like I'm sure she wishes she was able to. Yet throughout all this, my passion in life was always to better myself and 'break out' of the cycle that most foster children/children-of-addicts almost inevitably fall into. I began by saying I wanted to go to university - at 6 years old!

After many more years filled with obstacles, such as absent parents; the death of my mother; abusive partners; homelessness; sexual assault; being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult; discovering I have EDS (a chronic pain and fatigue condition that effects my connective tissue); a flurry of unhealthy friendships and many other uprooting life events; I realised that I needed to fight on my own for my future. I pursued personal development and education over and over again (many unsuccessful attempts due to unprecedented circumstances), trying to reach my goal of being the first in my family to go to university - and guess what?... I MANAGED IT! YAY!!


Now, this all sounds very sad (and it definitely is), so I think it's time for some good stuff...


Not only did I manage to get into university (twice!), I have been doing super well and achieving amazing grades - I gained a first for my first year, and I have achieved firsts in all units for the first half of my second year (I am currently commencing with the second half)!
I have worked hard over the years to build my resume up with a variety of voluntary and paid work experience with animals: Reptile and Exotic Pet Shop, Monkey Rescue and Sanctuary, Bat Surveying, Habitat Restoration Projects, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Cat Rescues, SEALIFE Centre, and my favourite - an internship on a private wildlife reserve in South Africa!

^^^ (another cheeky photo from my time in SA) ^^^

All this experience really helped to solidify my vision for my future. 
I now have the opportunity to take a placement year (between 2nd and 3rd year) to gain valuable experience that will not only allow me to get a step up in the game after graduation but will give me extra credits to extend my degree from -

BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation and Zoo Biology 

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