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Not Your Typical 9-To-5 Job: Staffan Widstrand

Both Widstrand and Switzer knew from a young age that they did not want typical 9-to-5 jobs. Widstrand is passionate about wildlife photography and nature conservation, having been inspired by the natural world from an early age. Switzer is dedicated to water conservation and clean oceans, despite initially wanting to work with animals, due to her love of both mountain and ocean ecosystems. Their determination and following their passions led them to careers outside of typical work.

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Ge Lilian
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890 views

Not Your Typical 9-To-5 Job: Staffan Widstrand

Both Widstrand and Switzer knew from a young age that they did not want typical 9-to-5 jobs. Widstrand is passionate about wildlife photography and nature conservation, having been inspired by the natural world from an early age. Switzer is dedicated to water conservation and clean oceans, despite initially wanting to work with animals, due to her love of both mountain and ocean ecosystems. Their determination and following their passions led them to careers outside of typical work.

Uploaded by

Ge Lilian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Not Your Typical 9-to-5 Job

Many people dream of attaining a steady job with normal work hours and a reasonable commute,
perhaps in a large cosmopolitan city. Others desire something else. Here are two people who knew
from an early age that they didn't want a typical 9-to-5 job. With determination and tenacity, they
managed to find work in areas that they are passionate about.

5 Staffan Widstrand
wildlife photographer and
nature conservationist

What did you want to be when you were growing up?


As a child, I remember having it all figured out I was
10 going to be an ice hockey star during winter, a soccer
star during summer, and a pop star during spring and
autumn. Later on I wanted to be an archaeologist, an
explorer, and a photographer. Widstrand is passionate about preserving the
natural environment and heritage for future
How did you get started in your field of work? generations.
15 I was in love with the naturalr world from the start. I wanted
to know everything about animals. At 13, I became passionate about birds, and I still am. I also became
passionate about other places, other countries, other cultures, and otlher languages. The horizon, and
anything beyond it felt like a promise, not a threat.
I started taking pictures at 13, but it took until I was 25 before I started my own company as a
20 photographer. Before that, I was trained as an army officer and as a metal worker, but after a while I
realized that none of that really was my thing. So I became a nature tour guide at 22, taking eco-tourists all
around the world-and being paid for it! I was also a picture editor at a major book publishing company.

What inspires you?


I feel very strongly about a number of things-human
25 rights, indigenous peoples' 1 very special rights,
democracy, freedom, and tolerance. But the issue I have
chosen to really go deep into and try to make a difference
for, is nature conservation and the survival of our natural
heritage. we must take better care of and respect this
30 ancient heritage of ours, not only for ethical reasons,
but also for pure human reasons. We need our natural
heritage to lead happy lives, to feel real joy, and to be able
to understand ourselves.
a close-up of an owl taken by Widstrand for his
book Wild Sweden
What has been your favorite experience
35 in the field?
There have been so many-human experiences, cultural experiences, natural experiences-camping
among lions, touching a wild polar bear's nose, sleeping in the rain forest, and waking up to monkeys.

1 Indigenous people are ethnic groups that have existed in an area prior to colonization or the formation of a nation state,

Not Your Typical 9-to-5 Job 13


Shannon Switzer
writer and water conse1Vationist
40 What did you want to be when you were
growing up?
When I was little, I actually wanted to be an animal.
I would literally run around on all fours pretending
to be a dog, horse, cheetah, dolphin-I morphed
45 into different animals all the time. By the time I got
to middle school and high school, I had moved on
to wanting to be a zoo veterinarian or trainer at
Seaworld.2 Switzer is dedicated to making sure our oceans and rivers
are clean.
How did you get started in your field of work?
50 I've always loved the outdoors, the mountains and
ocean alike, and growing up in San Diego allowed me to explore both of these diverse ecosystems. I
doubled3 in Environmental Studies and Biological Sciences, which gave me ample opportunity to get out
in the field.

What inspires you?


55 The ironic part about my dedication to conserving fresh water is my love for its salty cousin. Don't get
me wrong. I love exploring rivers, lakes, and waterfalls, and I know that fresh water is our most precious
and limited resource on Earth. That alone is enough reason to be dedicated to preserving it
However, the true driving force behind my obsession with keeping fresh water clean is my desire to
keep the ocean clean. My belief that we should be able to enjoy spending time in our rivers, lakes, and
60 oceans without worrying about it adversely affecting our health is what motivates me daily.

What has been your favorite experience in the field?


A moment that will always be frozen in time for me occurred when I was photographing whale sharks.
I had been following a shark who suddenly disappeared down to the depths. I brought my head up out
of the water to determine where the rest of my small team had gone. When I put my head back in the
65 water, I discovered another whale shark directly beneath me.
We swam together for nearly 20 minutes. Fortunately, he was headed in the direction of my team. once
we had nearly reached them, he paused. He stared at me with his curious round eye and then turned
and headed in the direction from where we had just come.
There's always something surreal about spending time with a wild animal that has chosen to approach
70 and hang out on its own terms. In this case, I felt like I'd made a new friend.

2 SeaWorld is a marine-based theme park in the United States.


3 If a university student doubles (short for "double major") in two fields, he or she completes all the coursework of two majors
in a single degree program.

14 UNIT 1 Chapter 1

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