Plenty of college students scroll through TikTok every day, but how many can say that one of those viral videos was made by their classmate?

Sam Schilli is a sophomore wildlife education major from southern Illinois. For the past year, he has uploaded informative animal content to TikTok. Though he started out with green screen filters and google images, Schilli has taken a hands-on approach to educating his viewers this year. Between a summer internship in a Texas reptile sanctuary, Murray State’s Biology Building and our proximity to the Land Between the Lakes, he has found access to live examples of how amazing wildlife can be.

Schilli’s account, animal__advocacy, has gained attention around campus. Students have approached him, recognizing him as “the reptile guy on TikTok.” For him, these interactions are a good sign that his content is helping educate people. 

“Whenever people are approaching me saying, ‘Hey are you that reptile guy,’ the thing that goes through my head is, ‘Oh cool, they’ve seen the videos. That means they’re seeing that these animals aren’t that bad,'” Schilli said.

In the Land Between the Lakes, Schilli primarily meets reptiles and amphibians. He finds small common creatures like green frogs, redbelly snakes, and prairie lizards that live under logs and rocks. As a well educated and careful biology student, Schilli has encountered larger, less docile creatures like copperhead snakes and snapping turtles. Unfortunately, misconceptions about these creatures are very widespread. Venomous snakes are often attacked, and habitats are disturbed without proper care. Even well-meaning people can make mistakes, like putting non-aquatic Eastern box turtles in water.

“I try to say this in every single snake video I post, but I always say the word friend,” Schilli said. “I want to make people think snakes are our friends because they really are.”

From reading about Orcas in second grade to making videos with copperheads on the weekends, his passion for wildlife conservation has directed his plans for the future. He finds inspiration in content from figures like zoologist Steve Irwin, who have also spent their days showing the world many fascinating and misunderstood animals around the world. 

“If I can spend my life traveling around, finding different animals and telling people about them, in my opinion that’s a good life spent.”