Andie Zou Wins the Buell Scholarship for Outstanding Student in Ecology

I stubbornly decided to go into wildlife conservation at the age of six when I was completely enthralled and devastated by BBC’s Planet Earth documentary. It was the beginning of my love for the natural sciences, and I was absolutely certain that this was my career direction. During a tour of Cook campus, my tour guide named Lucy, an Ecology major, recommended EENR to me once she heard about my interest in wildlife. Her enthusiasm for what she was studying inspired me greatly and was what gave me the final push to come to Rutgers. I continued to experience and witness that same enthusiasm in the Ecology community during my time here, and, at every step of the way, my professors helped nurture the curiosity that brought me here in the first place. Field Techniques with Dr. Lathrop and Dr. John-Alder was my first introduction to getting hands-on in the field, and the experience solidified that I had chosen the correct career path. I went on a study abroad course to Indonesia led by Dr. Vogel, which was a defining experience in my undergraduate life and opened the door for me to explore research abroad. Dr. Sukhdeo was my freshman year advisor, major advisor, professor for my favorite class Evolution of Animal Behavior, and George H. Cook advisor. Her guidance and support over the years has been invaluable to me and is something I will carry with me far past graduation. With the help of Dr. Vogel, Dr. Sukhdeo, and Dr. Lathrop, I received a Fulbright Research Award to study parasite prevalence in Bornean orangutans for a year, starting this fall. I hope to apply the skills I have gained during my time in EENR to this new project and to the start of my career as a scientist.