A current junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Emily Moroni, has a passion for animals. Moroni is a St. Louis resident and commuter student who chose to go to SLU because it was close to home, she got a good scholarship, and she liked the biology program. Staying nearby her pets was also important to her– she has three dogs, a fish, and a ‘nephew’ of a cat named General Ulysses S. Grant.

Moroni is a biology major who is concentrating on evolution, ecology, and conservation with a keen love for the environment and the creatures that live there. While unsure about going to graduate school, Moroni plans on working with animals through field work and conservation. Part of Moroni’s passion for ecology and conservation comes from the ways problems have to be approached in conservation ecology.

As Moroni puts it, “I think the creative mechanisms and approaches to solving ecological issues is so interesting. There’s so much more to saving the planet and its species than we think.”

Originally planning on becoming a vet, Moroni chose to change her career path and focus more on conservation and ecology instead of working with pets. “I guess I just wanted to do something on a larger scale. I shadowed at a vet for a while and I actually liked it, but it wasn’t for me.”

When Moroni took a conservation biology class taught by Dr. Valone, however, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. “It kind of lit a lightbulb in my head and got me actually exploring what my dream job actually is.” Moroni said, “I knew I wanted to work with animals, but I wasn’t sure in what ways.”

Despite her choice to leave the pre-vet track behind her, Moroni still remains invested in working with animals and the environment.

Moroni regularly volunteers at Support Dogs, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing well-trained service dogs to both individuals with disabilities and therapy teams. Puppies are born and raised at Support Dogs, Inc., and are trained until they can obtain certification to become a service dog and placed with a client who needs them without cost.

At Support Dogs, Inc., Moroni’s job is to be a Whelper Helper, or an individual who helps care and raise new litters of puppies until they are 8 weeks old. She found out about Support Dogs, Inc., through the Community Service Fair her freshman year and immediately began to volunteer. She enjoys spending time with the animals and the fact that they will be trained to help people later in life.

“There’s always dogs running around and I get to pet forty puppies every time I go,” Moroni commented with a laugh. “I like it, because I get to obviously hang out with puppies, but I think it’s a good cause and really rewarding.”