Bianca Perez 16, a SU alumna, stopped by to speak about her career as a wildlife manager and working with endangered species. She shared her perspective and some of the journey that led to her current position in the field. Perez shared her story, including the experiences and internships that led her to her current position. She also gave advice based on her own struggles and realizations.
Perez’s work focuses on studying endangered species and their environment. This includes factors such as the number and diversity of declining species, the prevalence of harmful factors like invasive species and water content. This allows Perez to better understand the needs of species that are in dire need of support and how best to preserve their numbers in the wild. Bianca has been primarily concerned with aquatic species. This includes freshwater mussels, fish, salamanders, and snails. This doesn’t always require a focus on endangered species. Bianca has often had to concentrate on problem animals, such as fish who eat endangered frog eggs or invasive species that disrupt the delicate food web that native species rely on. Although this type of work is not as dirty and hardy as one might imagine, it does require a lot of outdoor fieldwork. Perez noted how the pandemics impacts have resulted in a lot more remote work. Many of her colleagues have also had their field studies delayed.
Perez’s career path has taken her to internships at many organizations across the country as well as local jobs here in Texas. One of the connections she made was through her work at the John Heinz National Wildlife RefugePhiladelphia is home to the field of agricultural management. Her conservation work at the refuge involved her dealing with invasive species in the environment and mitigating their spread. This is similar to agricultural management. Perez also shared her experience in Yosemite National Park’s long-term field research, where she helped to reintroduce a species pond turtle to its rivers. Perez and her coworkers slept in tents three months straight and only had to shower once per week.
Perez also shared an experience when she felt discouraged about her career. She struggled with an advisor during her postgraduate education at Texas A&M University. He refused to give her a full contract and cut funding. She was forced to choose between paying the tuition and leaving. Her career continued even though she left without her master’s degree. Despite the setbacks, Perez returned to Georgetown where she was able to get a full-time position as an Ecological Risk Assessor at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It’s more of a desk job, Perez admits, as she writes frequent journals about which species of animal or plant are in dire need of protection. She is happy to be where she is today, and to have had the opportunities to learn from the past.
Perez’s experiences were shared with students interested in Environmental Studies. They were able to offer advice on where to go, what to do, and where to look. For those who are looking for paid internships, Perezs has one recommendation: the Student Conservationist Association. One might find opportunities like the ones she had at Yosemite. However, she cautioned that it can be difficult to find full-time positions with the SCA. She also warned that state priorities can affect job priorities with most funding sources. Bianca also gave some general advice to SU students. She explained that it is not a good idea to be shy about asking other people of your experience what they are getting paid. When it comes to fully achieving one’s earning potential, Bianca encourages students to be their own advocate. If she could give advice to her former self, she would tell her to not limit herself. [not]You limit your possibilities in Environmental Science. Bianca said that Southwestern helped her achieve her goals and allowed her to explore the full scope of what the discipline offered.