My role as a conservation biologist began when I was seven, begging my mom to replace all the grass in our small yard in Syracuse, New York, to milkweed so I could see more monarch butterflies. My mom loves to tell the story of when she caught me standing outside, in the way of the man who is contracted to mow the lawns of the neighborhood, telling him that we don’t need him to mow here anymore. My passion for the natural world has only exponentially grown as I have, only now I have been able to incorporate these sentiments professionally within coursework and fieldwork for four years of my time pursuing a degree in Conservation Biology at St. Lawrence University and my position as a YCC Crew Lead for the National Audubon Society.