Jane Goodall, 1960, Gombe Stream National Park, Kenya.

On October 1, 2025, the Earth lost one of her brightest lights and most tender caretakers, Dr. Jane Goodall. Living until the age of 91, Goodall lived a long and enriching life, spending years pioneering primate ethology and doing commendable conservation work. She was the pinnacle of compassion, advocating for animal welfare and wildlife conservation until her last days.

From the time I was a child, loving animals was an expression I knew intrinsically. My love of animals has its very own room in my house of emotions. Growing up as a girl, having strong women in the wildlife field to look up to was vital to me. Dr. Jane Goodall, like most of us young animal-loving girls, was the first woman of wildlife I looked up to. She was the definition of a hero in my little heart, and that sentiment beats ten times as strongly in my chest as an adult.

I always knew I wanted to center my life around animals—their welfare, conservation, and equality, just like Goodall. It is not easy navigating the world of STEM as a growing girl, especially during teenagehood and young adulthood. Having Goodall as a figure to look up to and say, “Look at her go—look at the pioneering work she has done and continues to do,” was integral in getting me to the place I am now, pursuing wildlife ecology and conservation.

Goodall is the wildlife figure—and a woman at that! A world of wonder has since stretched before me, knowing with excitement and hope that I could walk in Dr. Goodall’s footsteps. It is a delicious idea to be a young lover of wildlife, daydreaming about becoming one with an entire species of animal. Here Goodall was, smiling to me alongside the chimpanzees she called family, letting me know that this was entirely possible and that being a strong, intelligent girl was empowering.

Receiving the news that Goodall had passed away broke my heart and allowed me time to reflect on her life. Here I am, in college pursuing my wildlife dreams, and my first wildlife hero departs this Earth. It is easy, as a woman in STEM, to think we are out of place—the undeniable conditioning of our society. However, Goodall’s passing served as motivation for me to continue following in her footsteps. While no one could ever fill the gargantuan and awe-inspiring role she played on this Earth, we can all gather together and carry on her work into the next generations as strong and intelligent young people with a passion for the betterment of wildlife and nature.

Jane Goodall was a soulful scientist who taught us that wonder and wisdom are born from empathy. She guided the world to listen to the forests, the chimps, and the call of compassion within ourselves. Her legacy lives on in every hand that stewards the land, every voice that speaks for the voiceless, and every heart that dares to hope for a gentler world. She walked softly among our closest relatives, demonstrating how love, curiosity, and courage can bridge the distance between species.

As Sir David Attenborough poignantly put it during Goodall’s funeral, “The world is a quieter place without her, but her spirit still whispers in the trees.” Dr. Jane Goodall may have departed the Earth she stewarded so graciously, but her legacy is one the world will always echo—we are not separate from nature, but part of its beating heart. I will continue to follow the tangible dreams that Goodall pioneered before me, in loving honor of our shared passion for wildlife and the Earth.