Currently I am a biology major and sophomore at the University of South Florida. After I graduate, I plan on becoming a Wildlife Biologist/Rehabilitator. I am deeply unhappy with my college life. I am stressed, depressed, angry, frustrated, anxious, and confused about everything all at the same time. I can barely find the motivation to pass my classes and I feel as if I am in a downward and endless spiral of unhappiness. To change this, I want to take a break from school and just travel and participate in wildlife conservation opportunities! Whomever is reading this, please make any suggestions and opinions you have on this. I would like to at least tell someone before I bring this idea up with my family and start making real plans to do this. I plan on volunteering and taking this gap year approximately from August 2018 to April 2019 which will be after I get my AA this summer term. During this gap year, I would like to become more knowledgeable about my world, become more humble, learn, and experience. Please write below your opinions, experiences, suggestions on what programs are best for a gap year in wildlife conservation, and everything else in between.
Hi @samxldr I don’t know anything a out wildlife conservation. I am sorry you are having a rough time. But I feel concerned when I read the words “depressed, angry, frustrated, anxious, confused, …endless spiral of unhappiness”. I think that you should talk to a counselor about how you are feeling. Studying abroad might or might not be the right thing for you. You might be picturing it as exciting and fun, but it can also be stressful, and if you are feeling this way at USF, then studying abroad might not be a good fit. Please talk to a professional about your unhappiness first! That person might be able to help you. Then consider your gap year options.
Here are some places that you might want to consider–check with your parents and other people who know you and care about you first.
Student Conservation Association–has internships of varying lengths, from a few weeks to a year. all sorts of topics from historical archives to fire fighting in forests to fisheries to sled dog care in Alaska https://www.thesca.org/serve (I just checked SCA internship listings and there literally is a mother moose monitoring position open . … .)
Workaway.info – “volunteer” locally or around the globe. work for 4 hours a day and get room and sometimes a meal. The rest of the time is yours. positions include wildlife interests, sometimes. Take a look! they used to be free. now it’s charging a small fee. annoying but still a good organization I think – https://www.workaway.info/
there is also https://www.worldpackers.com. I really like some of these sites, I know my daughter is interested in a gap year before college, but she’s young and most of these have a minimum age of 18 which she wont’ be until late summer.
I totally agree with the idea you need some rest and change of environment. Do talk to a specialist, because going abroad can be also very stressful.
One awesome option, although it is not exactly related to wildlife conservation is to go help organic farmers on their farms.
I believe there is a network called WOOFing where you can basically hop to different farms every month. And if you think about it, organic farmers do help conserve some wildlife. Good luck!
Good luck!