Savannah was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma when she was just 14. After her first bone marrow transplant is when it was realized that her home life wasn't suitable for her care and was she was placed into foster care. Despite the rough transition, Savannah beat cancer two years after being diagnosed. Savannah attends Ball State University with an ambition to obtain her degree in Zoology.
Currently, in her third year of college, she is finishing her invertebrate zoology, entomology, and independent mammal research courses, and has had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica and South Africa for summer studies in zoology conservation. She is active in the Indiana Youth Advisory Board; she is also a member of the International Student Foundation (ISF), an organization that provides mentorship and leadership training to foster youth. Savannah also participates in Guardian Scholars, a program of the Social Science Research Center and Ball State University's College of Health. Guardian Scholars is a post-secondary program for foster youth development in which she is also a scholarship recipient. Savannah volunteers at the Office of Student Life at Ball State as a Student Volunteer Service program coordinator and is active in several conservation and cleanup efforts in her community. She received the Harry Watkin's Outstanding Achievement Award and the International Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in a Zoology Field Study of South Africa and Costa Rica. Because animals can't help themselves, Savannah has dedicated her life to give them a voice. She wants to make a difference in animal conservation through field research. Her aspirations are to earn Graduate and Doctorate degrees in her field and to be a leader of a team of skilled scientists who respond to environmental emergencies like oil spills and other ecological damage; she will rescue, treat, and relocate animals in danger.
Quote: The world can't wait for the future; We are the future. It's important we make the changes needed for a better tomorrow and giving back is the first step.
