story by Claire Miller

When she was growing up, Danielle Nawy would always ask her parents to take her to the zoo or the aquarium.

Her love for science and for animals in particular led her to earn a bachelors degree in zoology and begin a career as a zookeeper.

Nawy spent a few years working as a bird trainer and a grasslands zookeeper for the zebras and giraffes at Zoo Knoxville in Knoxville, Tenn. When she and her husband moved to Atlanta, she joined the staff at Zoo Atlanta, caring for the elephants, naked mole rats and meerkats.

I always get asked about my favorite animal to work with, but truthfully, I find that an incredibly difficult question to answer. There was something extraordinary about every animal I worked with, she said. But if I had to pick, it would be a tie between elephants and giraffes. Elephants are intelligent and they force you to be creative to keep them enriched. And training the giraffes and seeing them make strides towards certain behaviors was one of the highlights of my career.

Nawy also enjoyed talking with zoo guests about animals and conservation issues.

I fell in love with sharing my knowledge with others, she said. I would think about ways to expand my programming so that I could reach more guests and send them home with incredible messaging.

When she decided she wanted to pursue a different career, Nawy applied to Georgia State University to earn her Master of Arts in Teaching in Science Education.

She will graduate this spring from the College of Education & Human Developments Department of Middle and Secondary Education and hopes to find a job as a high school science teacher, where she can share her biology and zoology knowledge with her students.

Educators like Nawy can play a key role in encouraging girls to consider careers in science. This month, the United Nations will celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science as a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened.

It is important for women and girls to pursue science because there are not a lot of us. Most of the studies being conducted and decisions being made within the field are coming from a male perspective, Nawy said. Fifty percent of the world's population is women, so our perspectives should be seen within those studies and decisions, too.

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Former Zookeeper Hopes to Share Passion for Biology as a Science Educator - Georgia State University News