The Primate Studies Field School is often a transformative experience. Read about how it has resulted in new opportunities or career choices for the students. You can also catch-up on news form old friends from the field.

Class of 2011

Alisa Kubala I'm in Chicago at the moment, still working in the ER. Just finished my master's dissertation with Mike Cranfield (vet) and working on getting it published now. Hopefully I'll get a scholarship from my school to do a PhD with the MGVP (Mountain Gorilla Vet Project) as well. ~Aug 2012

Nora McDonald Currently, I am a Care Manager/BHT at Codac Behavioral Health here in Tucson. I am also a volunteer/Facilitator for the Tu Nidito organization and playing for the Old Pueblo Tucson Lightning Women's Rugby Team. Rwanda was an experience in every facet of the word. The knowledge that I gained, the people I met, the primates we saw (or even got punched by in my case) was incredible. What I learned from Rwanda is appreciation. Appreciation for education, primates, and my life. My goal is to incorporate what I learned in Rwanda in everything I do; whether it's my career or my personal life. ~Dec 2012 

Amber Dargenio I am currently a sophomore at Wellesley College, which is outside of Boston. I am a double major in Environmental Studies and Anthropology. My experiences in Rwanda further sparked my interest in wildlife conservation. I have taken courses relevant to primatology (and will continue to) at Wellesley/MIT including an independent study mentored by one of my professors. I will spend next semester (Spring 2013) in South Africa studying savanna ecology and conservation with Duke University and participating in research projects. ~Dec 2012

Michelle Coe Currently, I am a geography senior and will be graduating from the University of Arizona in May. However, I have applied for graduate school here, and hope continue my education. Along with school, I work on campus in the USGS GIS lab where I am conducting a project on southwest grasslands, looking at vegetation growth and change using Landsat satellite imagery. Studying abroad in Rwanda has really impacted my future career goals. Previously, I knew that I wanted to work for a National Park. Now, I have narrowed--and slightly changed--my dream job to working for a National Park in a developing country, and assisting in creating sustainable land management policies for that country. If accepted to graduate school, I hope to carry out some of this project and field work in Africa, whereas I never imagined living and working abroad before the trip. Now, it is all I think about and I cannot wait to go somewhere again! ~Dec 2012 

Natalie Romine My experience in Rwanda helped me work as a teaching assistant at La Suerte Biological Field Station the following summer, which was a wonderful experience!  I graduated from the University of Arizona with my BS in Anthropology and am going on to pursue a masters of advanced study in GIS at Arizona State University.  ~Dec2012

Class of 2012

Grace Davis I was accepted as a research assistant on a baboon research project in South Africa. Then, during my senior year in college I applied to graduate school in Primatologyy...

Class of 2013

Drew Bentlin (Jane Goodall liked his shirt). I wanted to thank you both again for the letters of recommendation that you provided me with for my grad school application. I am excited to let you know that I have been accepted into grad school at UW-Madison. I really appreciate all the assistance that you've provided me with during this process and hope that our paths will cross again soon.  ~Mar2014