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I am Dr. Sara Platto,  Professor in Animal Behavior and Welfare at the College of Life Sciences at Jianghan University. I am also resident for the European Program Animal Welfare, ethics, and legislation, and secretary-general of the Biology and Science Ethics at China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF).

Science has always been my sanctuary—a place where everything made perfectly sense, where my passion for the animals and the environment has developed to become a defining life choice. In fact, I decided to become a veterinarian when I was 3 years old,  and from that point onward, there was no deterring me.

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Dolphins have always held a special place in my heart, a love that grew alongside my fascination with the sea and all the creatures living in its. My journey into the world of cetaceans, truly began during my time at veterinary medicine college.

During my freshman year, I discovered that there was a professor at my university involved in dolphin research. Filled with hope, I approached him for guidance, only to be met with discouragement. His exact words were, "It is a very difficult field to get into, and only a small fraction succeed in cetacean research. Forget it! Look for something else to do!" These discouraging words, instead of deterring me, made me so angry and fueled my determination.

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In fact, few years later, I got my first internship in Spain at an open-sea facility with dolphins. A year after that, I received a European program scholarship that allowed me to complete my final year of college in the Canary Islands, where I had the opportunity to meet numerous researchers dedicated to the study of cetaceans. My time in the Canary Islands was transformative. I did a six-month internship at the only wild animal rescue center in the archipelago, where we rescued raptor birds, sea birds, sea turtles, and occasionally stranded dolphins. 

It was here that I became aware of the devastating effects of human activities on the sea and its marine inhabitants. During my stay in the Canary Islands, I also conducted my master's thesis on parasitic infestations in the cetaceans of the archipelago, where my responsibilities included performing necropsies on different species of stranded dolphins and, at times, even whales.

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After completing my master's degree, I started my Ph.D. program in Psychobiology with the University of the Studies of Milan. For my doctoral research, I assessed the interaction between trainers and dolphins in the absence of food rewards, focusing on animal welfare at the Dolphin Reef in Eilat (Israel). In the period between my master's and Ph.D. programs, I dedicated every waking moment to studying, participating in international conferences, enrolling in summer programs, and undertaking internships in zoological parks, where I worked with a wide array of animals, from big cats and raptor birds to marine mammals and penguins. While friends questioned why I didn't take summer vacations, my response was always the same: "I am on holiday because I am doing what I love most—learning about cetaceans and working with them."

Following my Ph.D., I received a scholarship to work as a senior veterinarian at a seal rescue center in Saltspring Island, Vancouver (Canada). The experience resembled working in a hospital's emergency department, with long hours starting at 7:30 in the morning and often ending as late as 3 am due to constant animal health emergencies. This rescue center primarily accepted Pacific Harbor Seal pups (Phoca vitulina richardii) found by volunteers on the beaches in the areas between Vancouver city and Vancouver Island. Despite the challenging and exhausting work, the satisfaction of saving these animals and eventually releasing them back into the wild was immensely rewarding.

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In 2007, I relocated to China and began collaborating with a British zoologist whose work focused on environmental enrichment for animals at Beijing Zoo. During this period, I was invited to deliver a lecture at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, presenting the research I conducted during my Ph.D. The concept of animal welfare had just entered in China in 2007, and I recall a professor expressing uncertainty about how to translate "animal welfare" into Chinese. Through this lecture, I was introduced to Prof. Wang Ding from the Institute of Hydrobiology (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan) who later became my postdoc supervisor.

Prof. Wang Ding is a world-renowned scientist known for his work in attempting to save the Baiji dolphin (Lipote vexilliferi) from extinction (one of the two species of Yangtze River dolphins), and for his conservation efforts concerning the Yangtze Finless porpoise. During my postdoctoral research, I conducted a study on the welfare assessment of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) by using passive acoustic monitoring where I "listened" and analysised their communication. Additionally, I explored the concept of laterality in Yangtze Finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis), investigating whether these dolphins displayed a preference for using their left or right pectoral fins and eyes during interactions with their environment, conspecifics, and humans.

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The importance of studying laterality in animals lies in understanding how functional brain lateralization affects their behavior and welfare. It can reveal whether animals have a preference for certain sides in response to different stimuli, shedding light on their positive or negative perceptions. Upon completing my postdoctoral work, I was offered a position at a university starting my career in the academic environment, where I currently focus on developing studies and courses on animal behavior and welfare.

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My career has always centered on animals and their well-being, excluding the human variable, given our significant role in environmental degradation and its deadly impacts on animals. However, my perspective began to shift when my son Matteo born. It was Matteo who made me realize the importance of educating people to effect positive change and work towards a better future. For this reason, beside my academic work I have dedicated my time to also organize lectures, workshops and Rabies vaccination campaign to educate the public on how to better understand dog and cat behavior. 

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During this time, I wrote the story "Matteo in Doggy's World: How Dogs Express Their Mood," which was  published in 2017, both English and Chinese. Being a parent and a researcher made me understand the crucial role of practical experience in a person's development. For this reason, I took Matteo with me during my field work since he was a baby. Matteo has been surrounded by books, science and different animal species since he born. I made his learning a fun game of discovery and small challenges. He learned the alphabet at 1 year and half; at three he started reading, and between the age of three and four he started to do simple arithmetic operations. 

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I've always encouraged Matteo's interests, providing him with opportunities to explore and nurture his passions. At the age of 4, Matteo developed a fascination with jellyfish, considering them the world's most beautiful animals. So, I arranged a biology lesson on jellyfish with the  biologist of the aquarium where I was carrying out acoustic recordings on dolphins. 

Between ages 8 and 10, Matteo aspired to be a space engineer,  so I took him to the  "Mars Program" workshop organized by Guangzhou University's Astrophysics department. There, he met Professor Fan Junhui, head of the FAST telescope. At 11, Matteo developed a keen interest in stand-up comedy, so I took him to comedy shows. Later, he developed an interest in board games when he created his first card game, so I  enrolled him in an online Video Game Design course offered by the California Institute of the Arts. I am glad he never asked me if he could go to the moon, because I would have had hard time to give him that opportunity. 

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Through my work, Matteo had the chance to attend international conferences, interact with researchers, including a Nobel Prize laureate, and engage with master's and Ph.D. students. These experiences significantly contributed to the development of Matteo's critical thinking. Starting in the first grade, we had an agreement that whenever he joined me on a field trip, he would create a poster or presentation to share his insights and knowledge about animals with his classmates. He began this practice at the age of 6.

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By the age of 9, Matteo was delivering public speeches in Chinese during the Rabies Vaccination campaigns I organized in Wuhan. From the age of 12, he received numerous invitations to teach classes, both online and in person, to primary school students on various animal-related topics and to advocate for environmental causes at international conference. Matteo's experiences with animals nurtured an interest in the study of human behavior, that lead to his involvement in the science fair program at his previous school. He won second and first place awards in the science fair during his 8th and 9th-grade years, respectively. His 9th-grade project was an original research on human behavior procrastination conducted in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Jianghan University.

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So, if you're wondering why I picked ISA and the IB program, it should be quite clear by now. I think education should be more than just memorizing notions It should be about helping students understand the world and figure out who they want to be, and therefore what they want to do. And the best way to do that isn't just by studying a subject but by actively engaging with it. The IB program gives students the chance to explore their interests, create their own projects, and use what they've learned in unique ways. The IB program is about learning and then applying that knowledge to do something original and find your own path. The IB program is the style of education I supported for my son, outside the school, till now.

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Oh! I forgot! Remember that professor who once said I'd never be able to work with dolphins back in my freshman year of college? Well, after completing my Master's degree, I had the chance to present my research at a conference in Italy. It was quite a moment! I was standing in front of the poster displaying my research, and who do I see approaching me? Yes, you guessed it, the same professor. He asked me about my study without recognizing me.

After I finished explaining, I reminded him that I was one of his students in college, and I also mentioned how he had doubted my ability to work with dolphins back then. But there I was, against all his doubts, defying all odds and making it happen! Dolphins have come and go, but they always been a constant in my life. Currently, I work on a research project sponsored by the Science and Technology Bureau of Wuhan to assess the welfare of a captive group of Yangtze Finless porpoises by using physiological and behavioral indicators. And my sixteen years of work in China have also been recognized by Chinese authorities. In fact, I have been awarded with the 2021 Chinese Government Friendship Award, and in June 2022 with the most influential people in the community - Nationwide award.

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Living your dreams can be hard, and often it's a journey you have to navigate on your own. Along the way, you might meet others who also have dreams, with who you can form a close-knit but scattered community of like-minded individuals. Trusting in your dreams means having faith in the deepest part of yourself and allowing it to be your guide. It's often quite scary, like clinging to a soaring “small balloon” while leaping off a cliff.

However, let me tell you, that inner small balloon is your most resilient support, carrying you through any storms that come your way and keeping you soaring high. I can vouch for this because I've relied on my own "small balloon" throughout my life, against all the odds and all the people who doubted me. Dreams are like visions, and with a solid plan, they can transform into real-life journeys and realities.