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Everything is possible

What is the value of undergraduate research? One is the experience itself: the chance to learn and engage in hands-on professional work. Other benefits are more personal. That has been the case for Sahit Liyanage, a Ģ����ý creative writing and biology double major from Sri Lanka for whom undergraduate research at Ģ����ý unlocked a long-held ambition.  

An opportunity to spread his wings

“I came to Ģ����ý from Sri Lanka and declared a creative writing major," says Liyanage. "I love writing, and I also had a passion for biology, animals and the natural world. But where I grew up, access to studying the sciences is limited. The educational system is strict and very difficult to break into for a young person.” 

At Ģ����ý, Liyanage opened himself up to the possibility that there was more to his story. “I quickly realized that there were opportunities here — a chance to explore,” he says. “I took BIO 102 with Professor Olivia Gearner. She was looking for students to work on an insect biodiversity project in the Ģ����ý Nature Park.” 

Liyanage joined the team, and the experience rekindled his passion for the natural world. “I joined because I was interested in doing research,” he says. “That experience in the field encouraged me to declare biology as a major. I was able to make one of my true interests an academic pursuit at Ģ����ý, not just a hobby. Being at Ģ����ý changed what felt possible for me.” 

A quintessential Ģ����ý interdisciplinary experience 

Liyanage cites the conservationist and zookeeper Steve Irwin and naturalist David Attenborough as influences. As a creative writing and biology double major, these influences now take on new meaning. 

“The idea of doing the kind of practical, hands-on fieldwork I saw people like Irwin or Attenborough doing felt almost impossible at home,” he says. “At Ģ����ý, as an undergraduate, I get to do field-based nature science work that looks a lot like what they do. I can see myself in those roles. What once felt like a surprise, now feels essential to my education. I can’t wait to build upon my research experience, possibly through more research or an internship, and bring my creative writing and biology together.”

While he continues his studies at Ģ����ý, Layinage will write and interact with nature. “I enjoy taking field notes and observations and giving them a poetic quality or finding a narrative,” he says. “I’m drawn to small, sometimes overlooked species or ecosystems that aren’t ‘charismatic’ enough to draw popular attention. I’d like to write about them.” Liyanage cites the clouded leopard as a most charismatic animal. As for the less “charismatic” animals he may study and write about in the future — stay tuned.