DANTAisms

Hello everybody! I am extremely excited and appreciative to join DANTA as another blogger! My whole life I always wanted to make an impact on some type of way. Growing up as an athlete it was easy to think I could become a physical therapist (PT) and help individuals improve so they can enjoy life to the fullest with minimal pain and full mobility. I took on an internship position at my local PT office to get a better feel for what I would be doing. Immediately after my internship was over I knew PT was not for me.

I entered Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2013 as undeclared and confused. Fortunately, that semester I had on my schedule a cultural anthropology class. This class sucked me in like a vacuum and brought me into a whole different world that I had no clue about. The concept of studying whatever I would like to through a holistic perspective was genius! After I declared my major as anthropology, I applied for Methods in Primate Behavior and Conservation, a field course in Costa Rica through DANTA. With minimal education on the rain forest and conservation methods, I basically went into the course blindfolded. I always loved to explore and adventure off, but I really only left my print on state parks in my area of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. What I did not realize is I would come out of this experience with more than I ever thought. I can easily say, those two weeks changed my life. Now, with a new discovery of a field I barely had knowledge on, I am confident in the direction I am headed in environmental conservation and sustainability. I believe it is important to sustain our planet for not only the species that share it with us, but especially for our own species. It is apparent that the world we created for ourselves is ultimately killing ourselves, and I hope to bring awareness about some of these issues in my blog posts. I also love researching about primate conservation for many reasons. 90% of primates live in the tropics, which means they are a vital species to the health of the rain forest. Also, they are our close ancestors through evolutionary history, which means their behavior may explain a lot about human behavior. Like mentioned earlier, I am an amateur to this cool stuff, but through my journey of knowledge it is extremely satisfying to bring awareness about these subjects that I know many people do not know about.

Outside of my journey into environmental conservation, I love being active. I am the vice president of the club lacrosse team, ultimate Frisbee champ, and street basketball player with the boys. Spontaneous explorations and adventures into the forests are my biggest stress relievers. My job consists of taking care of individuals that cannot take care of themselves as a certified nurse’s assistant. This job often challenges my position of being a student but ultimately guides my views of always being a hard worker. One of the biggest ways I live my life is to always stay laughing, and always keep the humor in things. Sometimes, you can lose your sanity if you become too serious. Life is 100% what YOU make i it. 🙂

Thank you to anyone who stuck with me through this long introduction. 🙂 Also, thank you DANTA for inviting me with your fellow bloggers. If anybody has any questions about my interests feel free to email me at kh27100@huskies.bloomu.edu.