Animal studies professor Erin Rickman travels from UK to find reptile niche at Eckerd College

Rickman has enjoyed teaching passionate students of various majors, finding it insightful and energizing to see how different minds think, such as more creatively or scientifically.

“I quite enjoy the thought-provoking areas of teaching,” she says, “and I like watching the lightbulbs go off as you see people thinking about things that maybe they haven’t thought about before. A really common one that I will talk to my students about is trophy hunting.”

Rickman admits she is for trophy hunting if it’s done in a particular way to prevent ecosystem collapse.

“You can guarantee by the time we spent half an hour on this topic, they will go from being against trophy hunting to pro trophy hunting when they start to understand the conservation value of it,” she continues. “If someone walks out saying, ‘Great points, Erin, but you still haven’t changed my mind,’ that’s totally fine as well. You know, like, I really don’t mind … I just enjoy those conversations.”

Rickman, explaining how lucky she is to be in her teaching position in the States says, “You know, you hear these things happening to people, but I never thought I would be one of those people.

“I’m just very thankful that I’ve been given this opportunity. Florida was a dream. Researching reptiles was a dream. Teaching—once I realized the passion I had for it—was a dream.”