How an Introductory Ecology Course Changed Her Life
Aidan Sites ’22 thought she would go into medicine, but instead, she is saving sea turtles and whales
Living in the jungle. Trekking along weathered coastlines. Scuba diving in the deep seas and speaking out for some of the world’s extraordinary and endangered creatures. These are the dreamlike duties of the wildlife conservationist. For Aidan Sites ’22, those dreams have become reality.
“If you had told me my senior year spring that this would be my life right now, I wouldn’t have really believed it,” she said.
Her story illustrates the impact and importance of a liberal arts education, which encourages students to explore a variety of interests, to become skilled in multiple specialties, and to be nimble enough—and courageous enough—to respond to opportunities that might lead them down an unexpected path.
Sites grew up on a lake in Maine, where she explored and found solace in the natural world. When she arrived at Colby, she anticipated following in her family’s footsteps toward a career in medicine. But then she took an introductory ecology course with Justin Becknell, associate professor and chair of environmental studies, and everything changed.
“It just clicked,” Sites said of Becknell’s class, “because I always loved understanding how different biological processes work together to create the world that we have.”
At that moment, she began to seriously rethink her plan, which led to her deciding to major in environmental science.
“We need more teachers like him, who are obviously very passionate about what they do but who also really try to make it accessible for everyone,” she said of Becknell, whom she considers a mentor.
Sites pursued a concentration in biodiversity and conservation, as well as a second major in global studies. Global studies has been a crucial complement to her education in the sciences, especially given her interest in international conservation. The major allowed her to gain experience speaking new languages, learn the nuances of understanding other cultures, and explore systems of injustice and privilege at play in the world.
Her work as a student at Colby and since her graduation reflects the interdisciplinary range of her education. She has worked as a research assistant on a sea turtle conservation project in Costa Rica, as a community outreach coordinator for a wildlife rescue center in Peru, and as a project intern focused on seabird monitoring and sea turtle nesting in Cape Verde. As an apprentice divemaster at La Ventana Dive Center in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, Sites gained experience as an ocean safari guide. A photographer and videographer, she is working on a movie about the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
A research project becomes her passion
Sites began a research project as a junior at Colby that would guide her for years to come. That January, she volunteered as a sea turtle conservation assistant for Project Biodiversity in Cape Verde, off the West African coast. Inspired by the organization’s ethos of working with local community members and subsistence hunters, Sites collaborated the following semester with Leeann Sullivan, a visiting assistant professor from 2020 to 2022, to design an independent study focused on interviewing NGOs about their approaches to grassroots conservation efforts.
She returned to Cape Verde the summer between her junior and senior years to put this project into practice and soon formed it into a thesis that earned her the inaugural Environmental Studies Department Founder’s Award. This award, which recognizes projects that aim to create lasting solutions to interdisciplinary environmental problems, enabled Sites to both continue her research after graduation and expand its reach.
After graduation, Sites spent several months in Central and South America, working first as a research assistant for the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Costa Rica, then at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Peru, a scuba shop in Honduras, and finally, studying owl monkey population dynamics in the Gran Chaco rainforest of Argentina. All the while, she continued her anthropological research, creating connections wherever she went.
“Every experience that I’ve had working in conservation I’ve always met inspiring individuals that I have stayed in contact with,” she said, “and that has opened up doors for me.”
Finding joy amid the challenges
Her travels were not without hardship. In Peru, she learned the difficulties of running an NGO devoted to endangered animals in a remote and unfamiliar place. Sites noted the intense emotional toll this work can take, as well as the mental strain she witnessed in administrators struggling to balance passion, self-care, animal care, and organizational management, often with minimal support.
“My goal is to make it as accessible as possible for anyone and everyone to start caring about conservation issues because you don’t need to be a scientist to care about the species living in our backyard.”
Aidan Sites ’22
Despite the challenges, there were joys. “Being in the Amazon rainforest, meeting all of these rescue animals that we, unfortunately, had to bring in so commonly because they were part of the illegal wildlife trade, and getting to know each of their personalities was amazing,” she said.
In North America, Sites has worked on a documentary film about North Atlantic right whales. These whales are one of the most critically endangered species in the world, and they spend much of their lives off the coast of New England. Sites interviewed conservationists, fishers, and everyday residents along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, to create a “mini-film” and use social media in a positive way.
“My goal is to make it as accessible as possible for anyone and everyone to start caring about conservation issues because you don’t need to be a scientist to care about the species living in our backyard,” she said. “You don’t need to be a politician who has certain policies, you just need to be an everyday person who cares and is willing to make a phone call or send an email to tell your representatives that you care about this issue.”
She is also adamant about including Indigenous voices in her work and in the work of others. “One of the first steps to protecting our natural spaces is to protect the first peoples,” she said, and that includes preserving and uplifting their stories, perspectives, and knowledge.
With her experiences, Sites has accumulated a wealth of advice for current or former Colby students thinking about exploring the field of wildlife conservation. The field can be quite specialized, often requiring certifications such as scuba, and finding new opportunities is never easy. It is not necessarily the most lucrative career, she said, and networking is essential for advancing.
Nonetheless, for students who know this kind of work is their passion, they should persist in their search and not compare themselves to others, she said.
“And always be open to new experiences. Be willing and open to say yes to those crazy experiences, because those are the ones that are going to shape who you are.”
