Katharine Ollar once wanted to go anywhere but Clemson University.
This May, she graduates from Clemson University with a degree in wildlife and fisheries biology after an experience that took her across the globe, deepened her passion for conservation and confirmed that sometimes the best path is the one you never planned to take.
Like many high school students, Ollar was eager to leave home. A swimmer at J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, South Carolina, she planned to attend college in California on scholarship. When those plans changed, she applied to Clemson with her parents’ encouragement.
“I was so anti-Clemson in high school,” Ollar said. “Everyone from my high school either went to Clemson or South Carolina. Coming to Clemson was one of my best decisions so far.”
That decision opened doors far beyond campus.
In 2025, Ollar studied abroad in Australia, spending a semester at Deakin University in Melbourne. What began as an opportunity to travel quickly became something more meaningful: a chance to study ecosystems firsthand, build friendships across cultures and see her field through a global lens.
She explored subtropical rainforests in the Dandenong Ranges while studying environmental botany. In hydrology, she assessed residential creeks and toured water treatment facilities. Even outside the classroom, learning never stopped.
“I got to really get to know the local students on a more personal level,” she said. “They showed me around the area, shared some of their favorite foods and helped me experience Australia in a way I never could have as a tourist.”
Her time abroad also included travel to Bali, Tasmania, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. But the destinations were only part of the story.
From earning an open water diving certification in Indonesia to hiking New Zealand’s alpine landscapes and staying with local families in Vietnam, each experience broadened her perspective and strengthened her curiosity about people, places and the natural world.
Back at Clemson, Ollar carried that same energy into the classroom.
One of her favorite senior-year courses was fisheries management and conservation with associate professor Troy Farmer, where students gained hands-on experience collecting and analyzing data from bluegill and bass populations in Clemson’s athletic ponds.
“Kat was an excellent student in my Fisheries Management and Conservation class,” Farmer said. “She was always engaged in both lecture and outdoor lab activities and clearly looking to apply the knowledge and skills she gained to help prepare her for a career in natural resource management and conservation.”
Her final semester has been just as ambitious. Along with 18 credit hours, Ollar completed an internship managing social media for Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Wildlife Damage Management Program and trained for a half Ironman triathlon.
Now, she is applying to graduate programs and hopes to continue her studies in fisheries.
“This year has filled me with gratitude at every opportunity I am presented with,” Ollar said. “My eagerness to learn more about my passions has driven me to continue in this field and contribute to the community with my future work.”
For Ollar, Clemson became more than a college choice. It became the launch point for a life shaped by curiosity, conservation and a wanderlust that shows no signs of slowing down.
