Hi, I'm Delia Buerstetta, a senior fisheries and wildlife major in the School of Natural Resources.

I have known since I got my first stuffed tiger and walked with the cows on my grandmother's acreage that I wanted to work for or with animals, no matter what. I can credit many of my successes to the exceptional faculty that have guided her. I would have to say I have the best adviser (Larkin Powell) in the world.

Professor Powell pointed me toward an internship at the Henry Doorly Zoo that matured into a summer job. If all goes well, I hope my summer job leads to a fulltime position after graduation. Other faculty members have given me the knowledge I need to succeed in my field. The fisheries and wildlife majors are some of the luckiest people when it comes to their professors.

I also look at my time at the Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala as a key part of my undergraduate experience. There I experienced genuine fieldwork. Looking back, I feel great gratitude.

Following high school, this certainty about an occupation didn't lead directly to a college degree or career goals, however. I started at a community college in Houston but had to quit for personal reasons. When my mother and I moved back to Nebraska to be closer to my family, I decided I needed to get back into school. I paid a visit to Ag. Hall and picked up a wildlife and fisheries brochure and discovered zoos were listed among the potential employers of graduates. I was hooked. I wanted to be a zookeeper. I feel I am lucky to have been educated by such knowledgeable, dedicated and down-to-Earth individuals.