Savannah R. Randles, College of Science, Zoology
SIU Alumni Association 2019 Textbook Award Recipient Essay
Southern Illinois University has given me the opportunity to follow the dream I’ve had since I was a small child — becoming a zoologist.
There are actually very few schools in the country which offer zoology as a major. SIU was my first choice when applying to colleges because of the vast amount of research that happens here.
I feel extremely lucky to be able to have the opportunity to study at this university, where people are constantly doing the exact sort of work that I hope to do someday.
This school has also opened my eyes to all the other pathways there are to take in life. I have been able to meet numerous other students who all have diverse futures ahead of them in each of their fields of study.
This has also shown me that I want to do more than just zoology, so I have become a double major studying chemistry as well. SIU and their excellent chemistry professors have shown me what an interesting field of study it is. I now intend to explore opportunities in studying chemistry as well as zoology in my future.
