By Moriah Hounsell (University of Vermont; Namibia 2010)
I sometimes feel like an odd duck when I see Round River content show up on my Facebook feed, especially when things like job postings come up. Would I like to track Wolverines for the upcoming winter season? Man, that sounds like fun! But it does make me realize that what I’m doing now is not totally in line with what I studied with Round River, let alone in college. After I graduated from the University of Vermont, I bounced around a few different jobs, and have finally found a place in the business world working as a Software Tester. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much in common with what I do now and what I studied in Namibia with Round River, but I see the similarities on a regular basis.
Students interviewing villagers about important plants and harvesting areas
Trying new things
For one thing, my time in the Namibia solidified my confidence in putting myself in new and unfamiliar surroundings. This not only applied to living in a tent in the bush for three months straight, but also with the material we were studying. My main motivation for studying with Round River wasn’t to study wildlife conservation, but to go somewhere new and exciting with a group that was well-established in the area. But as much as studying the wildlife mattered, the people our work affected mattered that much more. Recognizing that nuance helped me realize that I can help people no matter where my career path led me, and that opened up so many more opportunities that I would have previously passed over.
Appreciating other people’s work and recognizing them for it
There are a lot of people Round River’s work affects, including the local groups who work alongside them. I got to know local Namibians in a much more intimate way than if I had decided to go out on my own. In the business world, there are a lot of people doing a lot of different things you might not fully understand, but you still need to work alongside them to make the business work. Because I was a student, learning to listen was easy, but I also learned to appreciate what these people did outside of any learning capacity. True appreciation, and telling them that much, makes working with people not only much more successful, but much more satisfying.
Identifying a fruit with local conservationists on the banks of the Okavango River, in the Caprivi region of Namibia
Acknowledging the things you don’t understand, and embracing them
Saying “I don’t know” was never something I was good at, but Round River made me face that flaw head-on. There are a lot of harsh realities in the world of conservation, and it’s easy to shy away from big challenges with no easy answers. But Round River taught me that admitting you don’t know something is okay, as long as that is followed up with “let’s figure it out.” I’m constantly given challenges in my current job that I don’t know the answer to, and the first step to solving them is to admit I might not understand them. This gives me the freedom to research what I need without feeling guilty about it, as well as a way to honestly communicate with my coworkers about issues I may be facing.
Putting yourself out of your comfort zone on a regular basis
I wouldn’t necessarily say that travelling to Southern Africa gave me the travel bug, but it certainly fed it. I always pictured myself traveling as a main component of my work life, but where I work now I’m pretty sedentary. I struggle with the fact that I only get 4 weeks off a year – how could I travel with so little time available? But if anything, the challenge is what makes it even more worthwhile. I could easily become content with where I am, but I know if I don’t challenge myself to make some kind of excursion into the unknown I’ll become soft. Outside of travelling, I really had to push myself to get the job I have now. As much as good timing and luck have brought me to where I am, I had to work for it, and take on responsibilities that, at the time, I felt severely underqualified for. But I’ve spent months in the desert! I’ve been charged at by rhinos! I can do anything!
Push starts on the beach. Never a dull moment!
Don’t plan on what you plan for
The business I work for is small, and sometimes we need to change our direction rapidly due to outside circumstances. Being able to adapt to these changes is a critical part of what I do. Even outside of that, the fact I even work in the business world was something I had to adapt to. When I first joined Round River, my goal was to photograph as much as I could to build out my photography portfolio. By the end of my semester abroad, my priority became being present in the moment. The experiences I thought I would have were much different from the experiences I ended up having, but that was only because my imagination couldn’t compare to reality. The work I ended up doing would not have been possible for me to imagine even five years ago, but what I’m doing now is so much better than anything I might have thought possible.
In summary, I don’t feel like my time with Round River was wasted just because it isn’t where my work career took me. If anything, it gave me the confidence to be where I am and who I am today. Could I get back into the world of conservation? Maybe someday, although I’m pretty happy with where I’m at right now.
Who knows, that could very well change too.
The Spring 2010 Round River crew
Moriah Hounsell is a Round River alumna from the Spring 2010 Namibia group, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011. Moriah now works as a Software QA Analyst for a small company in Burlington, VT.
Photos in text by Susie Dain-Owens.