“With hard work, discipline and passion, you can do it”
by Julia Plateringen
You might be as curious as I am to know what a career could look like after graduating. Therefore, I interviewed Lisette van den Berg, behavioral biologist at Animal Ecology UU, researcher in animal welfare and behavior at the Apenheul Primate Park and musician. Besides informing me on her career, she provided something even more valuable: hope and courage to follow your passion.
Lisette has always been passionate about animals and therefore did her master’s in animal behavior in 2005. She was sure she wanted to work with wild animals, but after performing fieldwork in Indonesia and also experiencing behavioral work with captive Java monkeys, she knew what she wanted to do: improve the lives of animals that live in captivity.
Her motivation to improve the welfare of all animals in captivity has recently let her to write a proposal for the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD). The proposal contained an improved methodology to assess and improve welfare of zoo animals. “Even though research in this field is understudied, it is time to start doing something”. Fortunately, this proposal was approved and will be used by expertise teams to improve welfare of animals in NVD zoos.
Besides this amazing achievement, she has been active in multiple organizations as a volunteer as well. For Roots & Shoots, part of the Jane Goodall institute, she facilitates and guides students with great ideas for the natural world. “I like this organization so much because it focusses on what you can do, even if it is something small”.
“Don’t expect that after graduation you will immediately find your dream job. You need to work hard, gain experience and have discipline”.
Don’t expect that after graduation you will immediately find your dream job. You need to work hard, gain experience and have discipline.
Lisette coordinated a summerschool course in observing behavior, has worked as behavior analyst at the UU and currently helps students with their research projects. “Don’t expect that after graduation you will immediately find your dream job. You need to work hard, gain experience and have discipline”. She did jobs that helped to reach her goal and were done with passion.
While we were talking about animal welfare issues, I asked: How do you keep up hope? “By taking action and inspiring people by speaking up about animal welfare. Animals cannot speak for themselves, so we should carry the responsibility over animals” She also emphasized the importance of realizing that improvement and change begins with yourself and even doing something small. Besides, real change starts when you talk with respect to people with other opinions. “Dialogue, discussion and an open mind is what we need to make change happen”.