Meleine Yao

I graduated from Salisbury University in May 2018, majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Biology. I believe that the next step that should be taken to achieve my goal in being an Environmental Policy Analyst is to obtain my Master’s degree in Environmental Science at American University. After obtaining a Master’s degree, I want to work for an international NGO focused on wildlife conservation and environmental policy. I want to help research and redesign current wildlife and environmental policies.

I am very passionate about wildlife conservation internationally and environmental policy. I have always had a passion to travel and find long sustainable solutions for growing conservation issues because many wildlife are becoming endangered or extinct due to human population growth. This motivated me to pursue a career in environmental science as a Wildlife Conservationist or Wildlife Policy Analyst with the hope of someday gaining a senior-level position. During Fall 2016, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Tanzania. I conducted research on the local community awareness on Burunge Wildlife Management Areas. This research provided community engagement, as well as agricultural and environmental skills. I was immersed in the culture and was able to administer interviews with the local communities about Wildlife Management Areas and the impact wildlife had on people’s livelihood. 

One major finding from my research was that when wildlife passes through an individual property it destroys these places via crop raiding. This decreases the overall income that could be generated from the crops destroyed. Protecting individual crops from wildlife will improve the relationship between local community and wildlife. I was also able to conduct numerous wildlife and vegetation transects, which were used to determine the species and vegetation found in that specific area. I had a chance to research other subjects such as: observing olive baboons in Lake Manyara National Park about the different activities they participated in during the day and observing different elephant groups based on gender. 

I want to increase my knowledge and professional experience to better find long-term sustainable solutions to improve the overall health of the environment and wildlife populations. Lastly, completing my degree in Environmental Science M.S will provide me educational and professional experience to protect all wildlife.

Connect with Meleine!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meleineyao4911a115b

Email: meleineart25LOF@gmail.com