My name is Kelly Holland and I am one of the Fall 2020 interns at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I grew up in a rural area of New Jersey but an hour outside of New York City and Philadelphia and always found myself seeking out natural places. I also grew up visiting the Philadelphia Zoo which fostered my love of animals and interest in conservation efforts. 

At the University of Delaware I quickly found my niche while pursuing my degree in Wildlife Conservation & Ecology. I spent my summers interning at a wildlife rehabilitation center and at the Philadelphia Zoo (a full circle moment for me) and my academic years involved heavily in my college, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. I served as the Vice President of our school’s chapter of The Wildlife Society, committee chair of Ag Day, a collective student, faculty, and community agricultural celebration, and a coordinator of the Ag Ambassador program showing off all our college had to offer to potential students. Additionally, I conducted an undergrad thesis concerning coyote habitat suitability in Delaware as a tool to predict their continued colonization of the state which sparked my interest in the research realm of conservation.  

Since graduating in 2017 I have had the opportunity to work with multiple rare, threatened, and endangered species with varying agencies. I worked as a natural resource technician in northern NJ participating in habitat improvement projects, trail management, and wildlife surveys for a county park system. I then volunteered at The Conservancy of Southwest Florida where my love of coastal ecosystems was realized as I educated the public on conservation concerns Florida is facing and helped in their wildlife rehab hospital. I then moved cross country to serve as a wildlife tech for the U.S Forest Service in southeast Arizona studying Mexican spotted owls and Mt. Graham red squirrels amongst other species. From there I moved to Jekyll Island, GA where I served two AmeriCorps terms with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, one in the conservation department helping with research on rattlesnakes, alligators, bobcats, and white-tailed deer on the island and one in the research department helping with the center’s freshwater turtle studies and loggerhead nesting season. I am planning on pursuing my Master’s degree in Wildlife biology in hopes of becoming a wildlife biologist for a state or federal agency one day, so working in the refuge system will be greatly beneficial to my career goals. I am excited to continue my journey in research in a new place and with new creatures here at St. Marks and am very grateful for the opportunity!