Sarella did her bachelor's degree at the University of Aberdeen on animal behaviour. In her thesis she examined the effect of environmental factors on the flight initiation distance of birds. During her studies, Sarella volunteered for Scottish and London Wildlife Trust where she had a chance to gain even more practical field work experience. Having enjoyed this, she decided to continue on with biology and came to the University of Helsinki.
Sarella's MSc thesis is exploring the landscape of fear of the reed warbler. This involves understanding how the Reed warbler perceives threats in its surroundings, particularly through social information received and how this affects the parental care it provides for its young. “I am really looking forward to starting my thesis on birds and their behaviour again!”