Christine Song

My relatives told me that when I was younger, I would crawl around chasing my aunt’s puppy and I would cry if I wasn’t able to hold her. From as long as I could remember, I would always blow candles out on my birthday and wish for my own puppy. Like most animal lovers, the obvious career path would be to become a veterinarian. That career idea stuck with me until about my third year of university. I had dedicated all of my efforts in high school and undergrad to becoming a veterinarian, including selecting specific courses that would be helpful for transitioning to veterinary school and spending my free time volunteering at multiple animal shelters and veterinary clinics.

In the first year of my undergraduate studies, I took Introduction to Biological Anthropology. I picked this course because it was mandatory to select an elective in the Department of Arts as a breadth requirement. Naturally, I chose a course that was science-related! The first half of the course focused on the evolution of humans, and the second half focused on non-human primates. It was my favourite course that I took that year, leading me to take more anthropology courses in my later years. Although I did not realize it at the time, this course changed the trajectory of my life.

During my second year of undergraduate studies, I spent my Saturday mornings volunteering at a local veterinary clinic, and I was later hired as a veterinary assistant. When I first started working there, I loved it because I was able to interact with animals, talk to people about their animals, and learn more about the field of veterinary medicine. It seemed like the perfect job. I would learn something new every work shift, and I think the aspect of learning allowed me to continue to believe that becoming a veterinarian was the perfect career for me. I worked there part-time for three years before pursuing a different career path.

In my third year of undergraduate studies, I was still working at the same veterinary clinic while taking many anthropology courses. In one specific course, they mentioned international field schools that would allow us to research monkeys in the wild. Up until this point, I had never really considered conducting research, let alone travelling to a foreign country to do so. I think curiosity got the best of me, and I applied and was accepted to attend a primatology field school in Belize. In that short month in Belize, I learnt so much about conducting behavioural research on wild monkeys and fell in love with non-human primates.

In my fourth year of undergraduate studies, I decided I wanted to pursue honours degrees to conduct research through completing honours theses. I cannot remember what compelled me to make this decision, but I am thankful I did! This same year, I started to realize that maybe veterinary medicine wasn’t for me. I began to enjoy my part-time job less and loved research more. The same year, I participated in a social anthropology field school in Cuba. I learnt that social anthropology was exciting, but I did not want to pursue a career in that field. I will talk more about this in another blog post.

In my fifth year of undergraduate studies, I worked on an honours thesis in ecology, where I used microcosms and protists to model ecological conditions. I spent 3 hours daily (including weekends!) for four months in a laboratory, counting protists under a microscope. My research supervisor initially planned for me to have 20 microcosms, but I convinced him that I wanted to try maintaining 66 to have proper repetition. He was thoroughly impressed I could keep up with sampling 66 microcosms daily on top of my coursework. The feeling of being good at something made me feel like maybe laboratory work was something I enjoyed.

In my 5.5th year of undergraduate studies (I only needed courses from the first semester to complete my requirements for my undergraduate degrees!), I completed a field semester at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, where I conducted a second honours thesis studying cnidocysts on anemones. This research project involved components where I sampled anemone tentacles in the field and analyzed them in a laboratory setting. I loved sampling in the field, but I always dreaded having to spend my afternoons inside a lab. It was here that I realized I did not enjoy laboratory research, and I much preferred spending time outdoors.

After completing my undergrad at the end of 2018, I found an internship in Malaysia where I had the opportunity to study groups of wild Southern pig-tailed macaques. I’m currently sharing many pictures of my time in Malaysia on Instagram (@christinesong.ca) so follow me there if you want to see monkey pictures! I had such a great time collecting behavioural data on wild monkeys. After seven months, I eventually realized that while field research is fun, it’s not a permanent career for me.

During my time in Malaysia, I applied continuously to different environmental and conservation job positions. Still, I lacked knowledge of policies, scientific communication, and geographic information systems that most companies highly desired. At this point, I have had my eyes on the University of Toronto’s professional master of environmental science program for about a year. In August 2019, I sent an email to ask for more details for Fall 2021. By some combination of preparedness and luck (“opportunities are for those who are prepared”), I was able to be accepted into the master’s program for the 2019-2020 year!

And now, I am currently a Master of Environmental Science Candidate, graduating in November 2020. Through my master’s program, I gained the technical skills that employers highly desired. Concurrent to my master’s program, I volunteered at a local non-profit organization where I curated workshops to convey science to youth at an appropriate comprehension level. I loved sharing my knowledge and research experiences to engage youth to take action in conservation.

As you can see, it has been a lot of trial and error throughout my life to discover my passions and how I want to channel those passions into a fulfilling career path. For As you can see, it has been a lot of trial and error throughout my life to discover my passions and how I want to channel those passions into a fulfilling career path. For now, I am seeking a career where I can inspire and communicate science to others to engage people to take action in conservation. When I reflect on the decisions that I have made these last few years, I am so thankful that personal doubts or fears never hindered my willingness to try new things. I have learned that there are many other ways to help animals besides becoming a veterinarian. After many years of trial and error, I definitely feel like I am on the right path now!

Cheers,

Christine