Student Life Blog Posts

My parents are Japanese and Colombian/French and I grew up moving between the USA and Japan. As a child I always wanted to be around animals and my future dream evolved from farmer to veterinarian to finally ethologist after reading King Solomon’s
Ring by Konrad Lorenz at the age of 15. From there on I decided I would learn to talk to animals and have yet to look back.

Like many kids, I grew up loving animals—but for me, that love only deepened over time and evolved into a curiosity about biology and how animals function. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do in the field, but I knew I had to keep learning. When I got accepted to UC Davis, choosing a biology major was a no-brainer. The only problem? Many majors felt rigid, built for a specific, cookie-cutter path I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow. How do you choose a career path when you don’t even know all the options yet?

Hello everyone! My name is Luka Morri and I am a second year Animal Biology student from Southern California. I have been interested in animals my entire life and have taken every opportunity I could to interact with and learn from zookeepers, veterinarians and others who study and care for them. As a volunteer at the Aquarium of the Pacific for nearly two years, I was able to not only expand my knowledge, but also help others learn about marine life in the Pacific Ocean and how to appreciate and protect it.

Hi everyone! My name is Anushka and I am a third year animal biology major on the pre-vet track planning to apply to vet school in the next couple of years. I’m also the president of 27 Heartbeats, one of the pre-vet clubs on campus.

Hi everyone! My name is Madison McAdam and I am a fourth year Animal Biology major with a Communication minor. I have always been interested in animals with my ultimate goal being vet school. Whether it be the numerous dogs in my family or my bug friends in the Orchard Park greenhouses, animals have always been a passion of mine. 

My name is Sasha Montero-De La Torre and I graduated from UC Davis in Spring 2017
with a B.S. in Animal Biology and Minors in Psychology and Music. From a very young age, I
have always wanted to help, learn more and conserve animals, especially endangered species.
I knew I wanted become a researcher and obtain a post-graduate degree to achieve those
goals. When beginning my journey at Davis, the ABI major was a no-brainer as it provided me
with the tools to learn how to conduct research and write a practicum! It was a rigorous 4 years,

My name is Jamie Nakatani, and I graduated from UC Davis in 2012 with a major in Animal Biology and a minor in Entomology. After college I worked in the zoo field for several years, starting as an animal care volunteer, progressing to a paid zookeeper, then earning an Associate of Science degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management from Moorpark College in 2016. During my time in that program, I realized I was primarily drawn to the older animals or those with interesting medical issues and spent as much time with the veterinary staff as I could.

Hi! My name is Stella Winn and I’m an ABI major in my third year. I’m also pursuing a Nematology minor. I’ve been obsessed with animals for pretty much my entire life. I currently have two cats, a leopard gecko, and a couple fish. I’ve always wanted to go to vet school ever since my mom gave me a book of all the dog breeds for my kindergarten graduation.

My name is Tahmina and I graduated from UC Davis in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Biology and was also in the University Honors Program. I am a first generation college student, and having to navigate higher education was a significant challenge for me. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to work with animals and eventually become a veterinarian. I chose to pursue the Animal Biology major because I wanted to challenge myself to participate in research and form connections with my peers and faculty.

Hello hello! My name is Courtney Tai and I’m a third year ABI student. I currently serve as the Vice President of the Vet Aide Club and the club has immensely increased my opportunities to enhance technical skills and explore internship opportunities in the area. I also work at the ARC so come say hi! 
 

Hello everyone! My name is Elizabeth Liu and I’m a 3rd year ABI student. Through my time at UC Davis, I’ve interned at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Costa Rica and got to work with exotic animals like sloths and kinkajous as part of a study abroad program. I’ve also led the halter breaking internship with the dairy cows as a student coordinator, for the Dairy Cattle Judging contest as part of FFA Field Day. There, I learned how to handle, halter break, and groom the cows.

Hello everyone, my name is Kobe Goliman and I am a fourth-year Animal Biology student with a minor in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. I grew up in Indonesia for 15 years before moving to California just before starting high school. My interest in studying wildlife stems from my lack of exposure to them growing up, which led to an interest in studying them. I picked UC Davis because of its excellent reputation in wildlife studies, as well as due to its proximity to my family living in California.

Hi! I’m Iris Rivas and I graduated from the UC Davis Animal Biology program in Spring 2022. I continue to progress professionally and academically since graduation as a Junior Specialist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. I utilized what I learned at UC Davis and turned my profession into my hobby.

Hello, ABI students! My name is Nicole Richardson, I am a 5th year Animal Biology major. In my time as a UC Davis undergraduate student, I have been able to capitalize on some amazing opportunities working with wildlife! I was lucky enough to intern at an exotic feline breeding facility and work with 60 exotic cats of 19 different breeds ranging from Malaysian Tigers to Pallas Cats (look them up, they are hilarious and adorable). As an ABI major, and with the help of Dr.