With the dream to improve technical and scientific skills to better support the biodiversity conservation in Mozambique and in the world, Naseeba Sidat, a young mozambican woman, will pursue her MSc degree on Coastal and Science Policy (CSP) Program at University of California Santa Cruz.
Naseeba has a passion for nature and understands the importance of ecosystem connectedness for conservation. She started her conservation career volunteering with marine biodiversity programs in 2012 and graduated with a Marine, Aquatic and Coastal Biology degree in 2016. She joined WSC Mozambique as a Technical Project Team Member in 2017.
After some attempts to get a scholarship to fund her studies, Naseeba will be able to fulfill her dream thought the WCS Graduate Scholarship Program (GSP), which is dedicated to building leadership capacity for wildlife conservation on a global scale by providing support to young conservation professionals to obtain master's degrees or PhDs at top-flight international academic institutions. Naseeba received the Beinecke African Conservation Scholarship, a Program established in 1996 in cooperation with WCS, to enable African students to pursue graduate study in conservation or wildlife ecology at a University in the United States.
“When I received the emails and saw that I had not qualified for the scholarship, I focused more on the feedbacks to improve the next time, rather than regretting the lack of success - my faith and perseverance were stronger than the fall.”
"The eternal prayer of my parents who are always with me, as well as, the great mentorship from my WCS supervisors, their continued support and commitment, contributed a lot for my success."
Naseeba intends to take on a leadership position in the WCS Mozambique marine program in the medium term and to get there, she firmly believes that doing a master's degree abroad at a reputable university will give her that opportunity and allow to advance her career, giving more skills, scientific knowledge and confidence.
"Right now I need to improve and strengthen my scientific capacity and tools to increase my potential within WCS Mozambique, in the country and in the world as well. I want to contribute to the empowerment of women, my own person, other WCS staff, community members and also be an example for students or young women who are starting their conservation careers, so that together we can make a difference and raise awareness of the importance of conserving the environment."
Therefore, in addition to the many other graduate programs in conservation that caught Naseeba's attention, the Coastal Science and Policy Program (CSP) at UC Santa Cruz seems to be the right program to pursue her professional career. The two-years program prepares rising leaders from diverse backgrounds to identify, innovate, and advance scalable and socially just solutions to coastal sustainability challenges.
WCS Mozambique wishes the greatest successes to Naseeba Sidat!!!