When she's not living in the rain forests of Madagascar finding a new species or exploring some of the most remote places on Earth as one of the nation's 75 National Geographic Explorers, Mireya Mayor visits schools and encourages students to engage in science.

Mayor, the first female wildlife correspondent for the "Ultimate Explorer" series on National Geographic Television, visited with South Elementary students Nov. 13.

She shared her life story, telling students about the unconventional path she took to becoming an explorer. Raised in a conservative Cuban family, Mayor's parents wouldn't let their only daughter join Girl Scouts because it would be too dangerous.

Her fascination with science and animals grew after taking an anthropology course at the University of Miami. Though she was a Miami Dolphins cheerleader and model, Mayor applied for a grant to explore in Guyana and fell in love with exploring.

Since 1997, Mayor has spent between three and 10 months each year in Madagascar's rain forests researching animals and finding sub-species. In 2000, she co-discovered a new species of mouse lemur and eventually convinced the African island nation's leaders to declare the new species' habitat a national park.

"You can be passionate about everything from cheerleading to being a scientist," said Mayor, who was a Fulbright Scholar and holds a doctorate in anthropology from Stony Brook University. "I learned in college that I could actually do something with my love for animals, collecting data on them and finding new ones we knew little about."

As a National Geographic explorer, she's worked on a lot of films in places she never thought she'd visit and with animals she never thought she'd she.

"There's so much we don't know about the natural world and so much we can still explore. We need kids interested in science and wanting to do this in the future," Mayor said during a luncheon for curriculum specialists and teachers. "Teachers empower and inspire kids to become scientists and explorers. Thank you for everything you do."

Mayor, who has been called the "female Indiana Jones," said her job never presents a dull moment and allows her to do what she loves.

She is author of "Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey From NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer" and is featured in National Geographic/CENGAGE Learning curriculum materials.

"I didn't know I wanted to be a scientist as a kid. I loved animals, but to me, scientists were people in books who were dead. Science was a lot of memorization and I couldn't relate to any females," Mayor said. Curriculum materials provided to teachers by National Geographic features scientists as a way to encourage students to pursue science careers.

"Even though we're in the Google age where you can find all the information, we do not know it all," Mayor said. "I had to actually capture the animals, take samples and prove my hypotheses."

Mayor's visit was sponsored by National Geographic and coordinated by the MISD science and bilingual departments. Curriculum and subject-level specialists from Midland and Ector County ISDs attended an educator luncheon at Midland College.