This one hurts.

15 years ago, when I was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, I met Jane Goodall and she changed the trajectory of my career and my life. I had transferred to UW to study animal behavior and follow in her footsteps, but I struggled with the hard sciences. Especially chemistry. I was filled with doubt and anxiety about the future and Jane took the time to talk with me and give me some advice. She shared the realities of the field and asked what I was passionate about. I mentioned my love of books and reading and sharing information with others, and she set me on the path to changing my major to English and eventually becoming a librarian. She also taught me that passion and compensation do not need to go hand in hand, that you can volunteer for the causes that matter to you without making a career out of them. That’s why I plant coral or pick up trash when I go scuba diving and I participate in citizen science projects when I garden or hike. I will never forget how Jane took the time to sit patiently with me while I unloaded my worries onto her.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Jane was an eternal optimist. Somehow, she was able to witness the worst of humanity and still find hope. She believed so passionately in the power of collective action. Of many individuals doing their small part. Of community activism adding up to global change. She especially believed in the promise of future generations.



Jane influenced my life more recently as well. When my world was thrown into chaos this year as a federal employee and I was faced with the threat of losing my job, I started looking at alternative career paths. I thought back to that conversation with Jane and I thought about the people who have most inspired me – people like Carl Sagan, Bill Nye, Sylvia Earle, and Jane. Science communicators who use their expertise not only to inform but to inspire, especially young people. I applied to a graduate program in science communication to learn how to write engaging nonfiction for kids that teaches them how to be curious and use their imaginations and ask questions and think critically and skeptically about the world. All that thanks to a quick conversation inside a chocolate factory 15 years ago. I am forever indebted to the influence Jane Goodall has had on my life. Her passing is a profound loss, but I know that I am just one of millions of people whose lives she inspired, and we will carry on her message of hope no matter how dark things get.

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”

With eternal gratitude and a lifetime of trying to live up to your example, thank you Jane. For everything.

Do you have a special memory or thought about Jane you'd like to share? Please feel free to leave a comment.