Hometown: Nashville, TN
Major and class standing: English, Senior
Instagram: @ilovemychevyimpala
Where you interned: The Nottingham Nature Nook, East Lansing, MI

What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
I was a wildlife rehab assistant at Nottingham Nature Nook. My duties were to help feed, medicate, and exercise the wildlife we’d taken in for rehabilitation along with a pamphlet to help advertise the center. I got a lot of hands-on experience with animal care, maintenance, and advertisement.

How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I initially got the internship through my roommate, who had brought me along with them to help volunteer a few times. Once I got to know the owner more, I offered my skills in writing to help in exchange for learning about animal care.

What did your daily routine include?
I would come in early mornings around 9, and feed all the birds, rodents, and foxes under our care. Then, I would give out medicine and do maintenance/side tasks while maintaining the feeding schedule and taking in new animals. In my free time, I would work at home building the pamphlets.

What was your least favorite part of the internship?
My least favorite part was not being able to work as much as I wanted to. Being a full-time student, my entire tuition is on me and the money I’ve saved, so I had to supplement a good portion of my time with a part-time job.

What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
I got to learn loads on animal care for our small, local creatures as well as a ton of general knowledge on typical barn upkeep, maintenance, etc. I also got the chance to build upon my marketing and graphic design skills, which made me happy!

What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
Through this internship, I learned how hard and exhausting it can be to work in animal care, but also just how rewarding it can be. In the future, I plan to return to school to study marine biology, but in the meantime, I’m looking for as many grant-writing opportunities as I can!