Avery Jacob ’22

Why UNE

I came [to UNE] because of the Animal behavior major. It’s not very common. Most colleges have programs like zoology or biology, but I wanted to zone in more on animal behavior.

The program is really focused and very specific — I think that's really beneficial when looking for a job and it makes animal behavior majors stand out a little bit more because it’s very specific.

I also came [to UNE] for the Morocco campus. I thought that spending a semester there would be really cool, and I wanted to take advantage of that.

We only had classes four days a week, so we had three-day weekends to go and travel. We took little trips around Morocco, and we even went to Spain. I also went to Paris one weekend.

The past four years have the most amazing experience I've ever had and I would not trade this for anything. I'm so happy that I chose to go here. I feel so prepared for life outside of school and I will have the connections that I have now for a long time, which is really beneficial. I love the closeness in our community.

Hands-on learning

[Animal Behavior requires an internship] so I did mine at Saco River Wildlife Center. It is a rehab center for wild animals in Maine.

It was baby season when I was interning there, so we cared for all the young animals. When they got older, we would put them up outside and eventually reintroduced them back into the wild.

I also got some tech experience while I was there, which was really interesting because I'd never thought I would do anything veterinary, but it was really cool to get that experience.

It was such a good experience. I really enjoyed working with the animals and I felt like I was making a difference.