Hope Leonard

Background

About Hope Leonard

Prior to studying global ecology and conservation at Cardiff University, I studied Zoology at the University of Florida where I balanced work as a microbiology teacher’s assistant and as an intramural sports supervisor. During my time as a TA, my responsibilities mostly involved teaching nursing students, many of whom had already received their bachelor’s degree and, in some cases, were considerably older than myself. As a result, I was required to tailor my teaching to my students in a reverential way while maintaining focus and respect within the classroom. Through this experience I was able to develop communication skills that have afforded me multiple opportunities. One of those opportunities was when I was chosen to participate in a study abroad program to Madagascar. There I was able to shadow a lemur conservationist and record and track lemur behaviour in Ranomafana National park. This is the moment I realised I wanted to be a field researcher; I loved the rigour and concentration that it took to track and gain insight on the beautiful creatures we were studying. The experiences I had during my undergraduate studies benefitted me immensely when I went to work with Archelon, the Sea Turtle Preservation Society of Greece, for three months. During that time, I collected significant scientific data of sea turtle nests and tagged nesting sea turtles, as well as informing the public of the current problems surrounding nesting sea turtles in Greece. The time I spent in Crete pushed me mentally and physically; this experience confirmed to me that I am capable of working and thriving in remote research climates. Moreover, Cardiff University has provided me with excellent data science, field skills and communication training through some inspirational lecturers: Dr. Steve Ormerod, Dr. Rob Thomas, Dr. Rhys Jones and guest speaker, Daniel Jenkins Jones. They have provided fascinating insight into how to proficiently communicate important scientific work to the public through data representation as well as vital tools and strategies for recording data and communicating within the scientific community.