Alumni Q & A- Brogan Pett

Brogan Pett studied both the FdSc Zoological Conservation and BSc Applied Zoology at Cornwall College Newquay before completing his MSc in Wildlife Biology in Edinburgh.

Since then, Brogan has used the knowledge he gained studying to travel the globe pursuing his passion for wildlife and conservation. 


He is now working in Paraguay as an Entomology researcher and museum curator with the organisation Fundacion Para La Tierra.  

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We sat down with Brogan to find out more:

• Tell us about your time at Cornwall College?

Brogan: I chose the course because, based on the modules, it gave the most comprehensive array of topics in the zoology/ conservation sector of any other universities subject guides I had read. In general, conservation of the natural world had been the panacea of my ethos since I was about five, so it was the right choice for me. 

The location of the campus is absolutely beautiful, the small size of campus and classes meant I had very good relationships with my lecturers and tutor, being able to have a personable chat with lecturers makes a great deal for creative discussion and enables students to maximise what they gain from classes.

I learnt an awful lot reflecting on the wide range of modules that we studied, (truly, many many modules), which gave me a great feel for where I wanted to go in regards to specialisms etc. 

• What have you been up to since finishing your course?                               

Immediately after finishing my course in Cornwall, I worked in a small village in southern Tanzania for four months on an amphibian monitoring project, followed by a short trip to the Zambezi to jump off the Victoria falls bridge (Terrifying). The following summer (2017) and this summer (2018) I did work as an entomologist for Operation Wallacea in Madagascar. 

This past summer I have been awarded grants from both the Linnean Society and Mohamed Zayed species conservation fund, to conduct an independent research project after the Opwall season with BSc students from Mahajanga University on a recently discovered and highly endangered species of Lycosidae (wolf spider) found in the region.

We will be used mixed modelling approaches to try and estimate population sizes and range estimates and see if we can get this pretty spider some international exposure to aid its conservation. 

• What tips would you give future students that you have found useful?

Be better than yourself last week, that’s all, in whatever small ways you can push those boundaries, if you do that from the day you start a three year course, you’d have 156 weeks of growth which means you’d essentially be a human sunflower.

 

• How did your course help you with your career?

The wide variety of modules and assignments really helped spur me on as a scientist in a range of different disciplines. You may wonder why you have many assignments but you’ll be thankful for them in a few years! Challenging yourself is absolutely key to development and any future success you want to have and  Cornwall College was challenging and interesting, I really cant stress enough how much having those personable relationships at the College was to my development.

• What is the best thing about a career in conservation?

Aside from the actual job, I’d just like to say that conservation as a career path is absolutely a world opener. i.e. there is no destination you can’t go and work, truly. If you like exploring, doing something positive, and science, or even if you don’t particularly like science. Stick with conservation and the worlds your oyster! 

My actual current role as an entomologist is my dream job. Studying tropical insects / spiders etc. is just mind- blowing. The sheer diversity and range of species, colours and forms is almost too difficult to put across. But it’s something that fills you with wonder everyday.

For more information on the range of Zoology and Conservation courses available at Cornwall College Newquay visit www.cornwall.ac.uk or call 0330123 2523.