When I was seven years old, I remember watching a documentary on TV about tigers getting poached or killed for their teeth, claws, fur, etc. As a little girl, I felt the fear in the tiger from the humans surrounding it. I vowed to dedicate my life to saving wild animals because of the injustice they go through due to human pressures.
I grew up in India until the age of 18. In schools, we were not taught that we could make a career out of wildlife conservation, and parents expected daughters to pursue a career in medicine. When I moved to the US at the age of 18, a whole new world of ecology and conservation science opened up to me. My professors were amazing, and I enjoyed lectures about sea birds and sharks. My educational trip to Trinidad and Tobago was eye-opening. We spent many nights quietly watching the largest turtles in the world, the giant leatherback sea turtles, nest on the beach. This experience confirmed my love for the natural world. I also worked in a yeast genetics lab for 3 years in college and graduated with honors after completing my research. I loved the thrill of discovering something new in the lab and decided to pursue a career in research instead of following a traditional path in medicine.
After I graduated from college, I got admitted to a Ph.D.
