My dream degree by Eva

My dream degree by Eva - August 2024 Scholarship Essay

I shivered in the cold breeze coming off the water. The sun had just begun to light up the sky, and the trees were still shadows on the horizon. In the early dawn light, a chorus of silhouetted Sandhill Cranes called in the new day. Thousands of these birds lifted their beaks to the sky and called out to the heavens in unison. As a five-year-old, I was in awe of the beauty of these birds, and I could hear and feel their magnificence.

It has been twelve years since that day and my fascination with the avian world has never waned. Over the past five years, I have been a part of both independent and collaborative research projects on bird migration and behavior, helped to develop some of Alabama’s bird conservation programs, and assisted in avian rehabilitation efforts through the Alabama Wildlife Center. I have had the privilege of being able to work with staff at Alabama Audubon to help develop a window collision monitoring program for the state of Alabama as well as a MAPS bird banding station for central Alabama. Throughout my involvement with these programs, my passion for preserving global avian biodiversity has grown exponentially.

As I enter my first year as an undergraduate student at Cornell University, I hope to continue my work in research and conservation on campus and in the Ithaca community. I will seek out opportunities to conduct undergraduate avian research projects and to contribute to larger scale studies through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, all while pursuing my bachelor’s degree in biology. I want to ultimately dedicate my career as a Doctor of Science to serving the natural world in a way I love while protecting it for future generations. This scholarship would help me to achieve that dream.