Daria Zielinska MSci Ecology and Conservation*, 2017

Graduate

Among the highlights of the last four years was the chance to do two dissertations, the first was about aggressive behaviour of crickets, then this year I researched the temperatures ants can survive in.

I started off at Southampton doing a BSc in Biology but as I progressed through my degree I realised that ecology was the direction I wanted to take so I transferred on to this course. I grew up watching David Attenborough programmes and I’ve always liked animals and the way they interact with nature and the environment and I’ve really enjoyed my time here.

Among the highlights of the last four years was the chance to do two dissertations, the first was about aggressive behaviour of crickets, then this year I researched the temperatures ants can survive in. I’ve won a prize from the Society of Biology as the best fourth year MSci student and a gold medal for achieving average marks of around 75 per cent.

Now I’ve graduated, I’ve got a job in the science department of my old college in Essex, working with BTech students and tracking their progress. My dream is to travel and see some of these creatures I’ve been studying for myself but I’d also like to take a PhD in further research.

*Course formerly titled MEcol Ecology.