Hello, everybody! My name is Raaghav Saxena, and I'm a fifth-year Animal Biology major. I grew up for about half of my life in the southeast of the United States, where my love for nature and wildlife specifically developed. That is why I chose this major; to be able to understand and potentially care for the animals that I have seen in the wild throughout my life, and to make sure that future generations may continue to see them. My time at UC Davis has allowed me to work with birds at Meyer Hall, turtles in the Arboretum, and livestock at a ranch in Vacaville.

I've also been able to learn multiple methods of managing these animals in various settings and for various purposes. For example, my most recent accomplishment was completing my practicum project with my mentor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology working with the turtle species in the UC Davis Arboretum. I not only assisted in removing invasive turtle species, but I was also able to conduct a study determining the correlation between weather conditions and trapping efforts of these turtles.

My career-long goal is to understand, work with, and apply my knowledge of veterinary knowledge to help exotic animals and wildlife in need, especially birds and reptiles. My academic journey as someone majoring in Animal Biology has allowed me to be even more connected with the wild world around me. It also has taught me that, honestly, there will always be someone better than you, and there will always be people better than them; what's important is to put one foot in front of the other, and ask yourself what you can do in this moment, now.

Feel free to reach out to me for any questions, if you have any. It's always great getting to know and help out my fellow students! Remember to be brave and let the future inspire you.