Moving to Oz: A childhood dream coming true.

G'day all! Allow me to introduce myself...

I like to consider myself a sort of jack of all trades. I have many passions ranging from the stage, theatre and film to the wild, animals and travel. With all these in mind, I have tried to find a way to balance them all and make them all work for me.

I figure my dream job will include a creative, theatrical medium for working with animals, conserving wildlife and being able to travel the globe while doing so. Eclectic, I know. But there is one thing that has remained certain from the tender age of 12: that I would one day live and work in Australia.

While growing up in New Mexico, I spent many summers glued to the TV watching Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter on Animal Planet. I saw this crazy, funny, energetic khaki-wearing, croc-wrestling, animal-loving Aussie who's passion and humor mesmerized me. I was sold. He had me at Crickey!!

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/photos-e6frg12c-1111119487991?page=3

I would then spend the rest of my summer days exploring the backyard and desert mesas in search of wildlife with the same love (but definitely more caution than) Steveo.

He fueled my love for wildlife conservation which I inherited from my parents who studied primates with the likes of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Robert Hinde and Tim Clutton-Brock: all of them big game changers and huge inspirations for me in the world of conservation. I hoped that one day, I would be able to add Steve to this family legacy, but sadly he died before I could.

While his death was a blow to the system, I decided I would continue to fight the good fight for our furry, feathered and scaley friends in his honor.Plus, I figured I still had the love of my life, my all-time high school celebrity crush and certain to be future Aussie husband Heath Ledger to look forward to in Aus...
Well, It looked like I would never make it to Australia. That I would have to start from scratch with my whole life plan.

After graduating from USD in animal behavior, anthropology and environmental studies, I, like all graduates, anxiously pondered what I would do next. I knew it had to entail wildlife, the environment and travel. I had been travelling ever since I was a child, back and forth to visit my grandparents in Europe. I had also studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence at USD and fell even more in love with travel. I had caught the travel bug.

I applied to NYU's tourism program at the advice of my sister, an alumnus of the school, to pursue Ecotourism: a field where I could combine my passion for travel and wildlife. I had a blast in the program and graduated with the world at my fingertips. But, I was back at square one. What now??

Then, one day, fate smiled upon me.

By a stroke of luck, my advisor in the tourism program placed me on the PhD emailing list. One day, as I was preparing for my trip to Africa with my internship, the Africa Travel Association, I received an opportunity for a tourism PhD Scholarship in Newcastle, Australia.The project entailed working with aboriginal cultures in conserving their cultural and natural heritage through tourism strategies. My heart skipped a beat. Not only had I been applying for jobs and PhD's for months without nary a bite, but this project encompassed everything I had studied and loved AND in the land of my dreams.

I wrote to the supervisor of the project on a whim, thinking I would probably not get into this position either, but he thought my credentials looked perfect! I had a couple of interviews via Skype with the team over Thanksgiving, which I felt had gone very well. Christmas came early when I got offered the position on Dec 17th.  Between then and now it has been a lot of skype chats organizing between American and Australian bureaucracies and scheduling conflicts. Now, in less than a weeks time, I will be flying to the Land Down Under. I'm both excited and scared, stressed and at peace and can't wait to start sharing my adventures in the outback with you.

I have been milling around from school to school, job to job, trying to find a way to get my booty down to Australia to work with animals and with people in conservation. I have been going walkabout my whole life searching for this type of opportunity and it is finally here. I'm excited to share this with you and to take you all with me, since I had to leave you all behind.Wish me luck! I'll catch you all Down Under. Cheers!