Primate Behavior grad student’s passion led her to CWU

After finishing her bachelor’s degree in small animal science at Delaware Valley University in Pennsylvania, Jess Oscavich was convinced she wanted to be a veterinary technician.

She pursued that career path until her passion began pulling her in a different direction.

“I started working with primates right after I got my undergraduate degree, and after a while I realized I had just fallen in love with them and decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life,” Oscavich said. “Central Washington University has the only primate behavior program in the whole country, so coming here was a no-brainer.”

Once she enrolled at CWU, Oscavich immediately began building the kind of robust network that results from small class sizes and a faculty that invests in student success.

“I feel like I’ve taken so much more away from my time at CWU than just the content of my classes,” she said. “The networking in particular is super strong here because of how tight-knit the field of primatology is. I’ve already met and worked with the person who’ll be my supervisor after I graduate.”

Not content to keep her learning in the classroom, Oscavich spent her time working with the Primate Awareness Network, eventually serving as president of the organization. She also served as a graduate assistant for the CWU Primate Behavior program and as a teaching assistant for a variety of classes. She said having so many opportunities to engage with the community allowed her to grow as a scientist and learn on a deeper level.

“Everything is so community-focused here, because it’s a fairly small school in a fairly small community,” Oscavich said. “All the outreach work I’ve done with the Primate Awareness Network, and even just socializing around campus and in town, has made me feel so connected to the university and the culture here in Ellensburg.”

With her graduate degree behind her, Oscavich looks forward to a future of helping improve the lives of primates in captivity through research and advocacy.

“I’m going right back into research and taking everything I’ve learned here to become a behaviorist for primates in captivity,” she said. “I want to learn as much as I can and put it all into giving them the best lives possible while they’re in our care.”

Through it all, she has learned to keep her mind open top new possibilities, wherever they may present themselves.