Mid Coast Today

Alyssa recently took the Capstone I course at Unity College with Dr. Maurice Testa.

"Before I graduated as an undergrad, I threw around the idea of pursuing higher education, but back then was not fully sure what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until I started working in zoos a few years later that I committed to getting my master's. It was my best friend who convinced me and told me "there is a school out there for you".

Last year I decided to humor the idea again and do more research. I came across Unity and was immediately drawn to the school being referred to as “America’s Environmental College.” I looked over the programs and decided to apply. I don’t think it was two weeks later that someone from admissions told me they wanted to give me the opportunity to show my academic abilities. I accepted and didn’t look back.

I truly enjoyed many of my classes at Unity. Two favorites were Conservation Ecology taught by Dr. Livengood, and Wildlife Identification taught by Dr. Algeo. What I really liked about conservation ecology was that I felt I was a conservation ecologist having to solve problems. Dr. Algeo’s wildlife identification was a bit different. The entire course was set up like you were an environmental educator at a nature center educating the public. This summer, I started working for a forest preserve at a nature center as a naturalist and have been able to take the material from that course and apply it.

My biggest takeaway is the personal and professional growth that school gave me. Unity and this program gave me more than just useful skills, and I am excited to see what my future holds.

I really enjoy working as a naturalist so I hope my degree will help me explore that path further. I would also enjoy being back in zoos as a conservationist or even working as a wildlife ecologist." 

Original source can be found here