Katharina Schreier 

I'm currently a PhD student at Oklahoma State University and a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves. Here's a little story about how I got here:

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Growing up in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, I spent many days of my childhood fishing for sunnies and bluegill, canoeing through marshes with my brothers, hiking and biking through the most elaborately colored forests I've ever visited, gardening with my parents, and simply being outdoors. I was an inquisitive child and spent my time outdoors observing the beautiful synergy of nature, but I would research in books what I couldn’t figure out through observation. This investigative nature from an early age led me to a career in research. 

 

I found the exact calling for my life on a ten-day field course in Belize. Throughout the amazing moments of hand-feeding a black howler monkey, exploring the biodiversity of coral reefs, and trekking through ankle-deep mud at 5 a.m. to add keel-billed toucans to my not-then-started bird life list, I was inspired by the knowledge I received from the Belizean tour guides. Many of them were local experts who knew astonishing facts about the Belizean environment and provided a candid interpretation of the natural world. Because of them, I decided that simply reading about nature from a book was no longer enough; I wanted to work directly with animals to understand them and the habitats in which they live. I wanted to become an expert on animal behavior.

 

I was able to begin this career path by getting my undergraduate degree in Biopsychology from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. During my time at Viterbo, I also had the unique opportunity to be trained as an Army Officer through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. ROTC is a program designed to help young adults simultaneously attend college and learn how to be a military leader. My studies and military duties kept me very busy throughout college, but I was rewarded for all my work with travel opportunities to Belize and Tanzania (I have lots of pictures!). Both trips provided me with exposure to new ecosystems and cultures, making world-travel one of my lifelong goals. When I got my Bachelor's degree, I also received my commission as a Human Resources Officer in the Army Reserves. I have since moved to Oklahoma to pursue a PhD in Integrative Biology and work as a platoon leader in Tulsa. 

 

I still love to be outdoors; hiking, camping, and backpacking trips are my favorite ways to recharge, and I have started exploring Oklahoma's unique diversity. Most importantly, I have uncovered a fascination with birds of all kinds since moving to Oklahoma. The ubiquity of avian species, the diversity of their behaviors, and the ability to use avian species as indicators of ecological health have certainly opened me up to new career aspirations.  

 

 

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