Luverne High School 2020 graduate Sydney Biever spent part of this summer in Africa through her studies at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion.
The faculty-led study-abroad trip was for a Field Ecology course that brought students to African national parks and introduced them to wildlife within each park.
“We learned about field ecology in a few ways,” Biever said.
“We had meetings almost every night to discuss topics within the scope of field ecology — including a lot of talks about effects of poaching. Each day we tried to identify as many new species as we could using field guides.”
She said students partnered on small research projects that they conducted at camp, and her project focused on the differences of East African moths at varying elevations.
The African study-abroad program in Kenya brought students to the Nairobi National Museum where they learned about native animals and the origin of humans.
Biever said she visited a primary school where she led a short science lesson for fifth-graders. “That was fun,” she said. “The kids were extremely excited.”
She said the trip, despite the two nine-hour flights in a row, was a rewarding experience.
“I got more out of it than I could have asked for,” she said.
“I saw just about every animal you could want to see — giraffes, elephants (my favorite), baboons, monkeys, lions, a leopard, ostrich, a million zebras, Cape buffalo, hyenas and more. … I am a pretty big lover of animals, so that was incredible.”
She also mentioned hiking up part of Mount Kenya and enjoying the scenic waterfalls of the Aberdare National Park.
Biever is majoring in medical biology at USD with plans to pursue a medical degree.
She is applying to USD’s physician assistant this summer, which is a master’s degree.
She is the daughter of Lori Winter and Dan Biever and granddaughter of Wayne and Isabelle Biever and Gerald Winter and the late Sandy Winter, all of Luverne.
