Not all of us are Scientists

We need to allow ourselves to not be where we thought we would be! We need to remember that we are all different, and have different skills, strengths and passions. We need to be open to change and learn to dance with life. Not all of us are scientists, and being one is not the only way to get involved, or make a difference in wildlife conservation.

Not everyone knows who they are or what they want to do, especially in your 20s. Not everybody stays in their first career, or their third. Changing and switching paths in life is more normal than you’d think, and I want to share with you some of my many switches and changes, and how they have brought me to understand my place in wildlife conservation.

I am 23 years old and I am not doing what I thought I would be doing at this age. I always wanted to be a marine biologist, and I am not one. From the age of 11 I knew my direction in life and this was super comforting. I knew that next year would be one more grade up, another year closer to university and then to traveling the world, working on remote islands researching and protecting the environment around me. Well, unfortunately for me, I was not an academic, and I was never going to be a marine biologist after school as much as I wanted to be one. I love learning but I have never tested well, at least not on paper. I’m a hands-on learner and the schooling system did not cater for my brain. What did work for me though was scuba diving. I got my open water when I was 16 and this opened my eyes to the many different paths that my life could take, because it was so different to the usual university route.

Photo by Ethan Holtman @YNOTwander

My family always told me “If you want something you will find a way, and if you work hard you will get it, it just might not come exactly how you thought it would.” I was not going to get the marks I needed in high school to get into university for marine biology. I switched subjects and got the marks that would allow me to study at university if I wanted to at a later stage. After school I became a scuba diving instructor. This really opened up doors and sparked new ideas for me and was a great starting point.

A teacher once told my class “You are not one thing” and this was a life altering sentence. I have always been driven by a desire to do good (whatever that means). I love the ocean and nature in general, as well as people and healing in all its different forms. I always knew that I wanted to travel after school, but the pandemic put these plans on hold more than once. That was actually a huge blessing because I had to switch plans around and I ended up studying massage therapy way earlier than I planned to. Now by the time it came to me going overseas, I was well equipped with many different skills and qualifications to ensure that I could always find work, or make work for myself.

Now the traveling I have been doing since I left hasn’t been going on holiday. I have made sure to go to places and really experience the culture, because I believe that this kind of education is invaluable. I always worked where I went and stayed for a long time making sure that I was earning my way there, and saving to get me to the next place. I’d always make sure to find jobs that involved some aspect of working with nature or people. I have worked at high adventure summer camps and been in outdoor education, worked with children, been in hospitality and held space for others along my travels with massage.

Photo by Ethan Holtman @YNOTwander

So how does any of this tie in with Opwall?

I found out about Opwall when I was in high school. I knew since that day that I wanted to get involved somehow, and learning about them led me to research other ways of getting out in the field and made me take a hard look at what the life of a biologist looked like. Fast forward 2 years and I got the opportunity to go to Fiji as a scuba instructor for them, but I couldn’t take it because of some prior commitments over the season. Fast forward to 2024 and I found myself working for Opwall at their Croatia site on Silba as a scuba instructor. One of the big things I wanted to get out of the season for myself was a bit more clarification on what I should do next and what is really important when making a career in conservation. I met so many people, so many scientists and biologists and teachers and children and travellers that I was overwhelmed with inspiration and information. The conversations I had helped me understand where the gaps are that need filling in this industry. They also helped me realise how important it is to honour your own strengths and not to look down on yourself or others just because of things like degrees, experience, age, and job roles. I am so grateful for my time spent with Opwall and with the NGO 20000 Leagues on Silba. Everything makes a difference, no matter how big or small the action or the comment.

I look back at the things I have done and the lives I lived, and I see now that, even though I may not have been in a conservation role directly, I have been guiding other people down a more nature oriented path, all while gaining valuable life and work experience. I have taught kids how to conduct themselves safely, respectfully and conservatively out in the wild. I have exposed people to the wonders of the ocean world, and shown them why it’s important to protect it. I have been on expeditions, giving people the skills they need to go and collect the much needed data. I have done all of this and I do not have a degree. I am not a biologist and I am not a scientist, but I now know how to take my skills and honour them, and I am more clear on my path forward.

You don’t have to be a biologist or a scientist or have a degree to be in conservation. You don’t need to know exactly where you are going, or have a plan for your whole life. You just have to get creative, and honour your own strengths and work hard. We are not all academics, some of us are artists, musicians, tradesmen, tech wizards, and some of us aren’t any of those things. We are allowed to chop and change careers and interests at any point. We are allowed to learn new things about ourselves and run with them. It’s never too late or too early to get involved in wildlife conservation, and there are plenty of ways of being in the field without needing to be a scientist.

So, where are you going to allow yourself not to be right now?

Title photo by Frances Budd