Hello! My name is Brieana Shook. I am from Columbus, Ohio and have lived around that area my entire life, so I am very excited to be down here in Florida for the summer. I am a rising senior at The Ohio State University and I am majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. I am passionate about wildlife conservation and have an ultimate goal of finding a career in which I can restore and retain biodiversity on our planet. I hope to have a career that focuses on sea turtle conservation, reptiles, or marine life. When I graduate I will be open to any opportunity that comes my way, whether that is a job or attending graduate school.

Throughout my undergraduate career, I have immersed myself in a variety of different opportunities. My philosophy has always been to involve myself in new experiences, although I may not be quite as interested in some than I may be in others. I have volunteered on field projects ranging from bat acoustic surveys to distressed mussel surveys. I am also currently a research assistant in two labs, one with Zebra Fish and the other with Redback Salamanders at Ohio State. I also love to take on leadership roles. This will be my third year serving as treasurer for the OSU chapter of The Wildlife Society.

Last summer, I had an internship with the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), a museum of science and research. There, I worked as an animal specialist. My job duties consisted of animal husbandry of many different species, interpretation programs, and training their famous rats to play basketball. This internship provided me with a variety of great experience, however I learned that I do not want a future career involving mostly interpretation.

I am excited to be working at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge this summer, as this is my first summer position involving fieldwork. I have already learned so much in the little time that I have been here and I am looking forward to a summer full of many learning opportunities and gaining valuable experience, especially in a completely new environment than I am used to. I am ecstatic to be working with the USFWS (an agency I would love to work for in the future) on a project that is focused on conserving endangered species and restoring habitat. I was also overjoyed to find out I will have the chance to work on sea turtle nest monitoring this summer! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to work here! I will be making the most of this opportunity and I cannot wait to use the knowledge I will be gaining this summer and apply it to any future career I may have.