The Best Summer Internship!
*I AM SO EXCITED!* :D :D :D
This summer I will be interning at Hawaii’s only USDA licensed exotic animal sanctuary - Three Ring Ranch (http://www.threeringranch.org) in beautiful Kailua-Kona. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about large animals, exotics, raptors and even endangered native Hawaiian species. I am so thankful I found out about this place - it was totally by accident! For a very long time I was under the assumption that we didn't have any animal sanctuaries on the islands.
The Director-Curator, Ann Goody, has an amazing ability to communicate with animals in the most non-threatening way and is also able teach these communication skills to others. This is something I very much hope to learn from her! I wish I could describe her to you - but trust me, she is extraordinary!
Many of her past interns have gone on to be admitted into veterinary schools on “first rounds” (meaning they were admitted after their first application). One of her most recent interns attends the veterinary school I would most love to attend - Western University of Health Sciences Veterinary School. This school operates on a "reverence for life" policy and just admitted it’s first class of students this year, so it is very new.
I have to confess - I doubted I would be accepted into this program. I met Ann and visited her amazing facility over Winter Break. During that time I got the feeling that she didn't think I was committed or enthusiastic about the possibility of interning for her. I am not one to "wear my heart on my sleeve" and I tend to be shy when meeting people for the first time. Even now I still have lingering feelings of doubt - maybe she admitted me only because she needs the help and not because she truly believes in me? I don't know why I doubt myself in this way or make assumptions about how others perceive me. My parents were with me during the visit and my father came out of it feeling that Ann clearly wanted me to intern for her. Regardless of these inconsistencies I can tell you one thing for sure - over the course of my internship Ann will see my "true colors" and then be unable to doubt my commitment to my future, my goals and my vision of raising the status of animals in society!
I don’t know exactly what to expect with this internship. Although I spent over three hours with this woman talking about her experiences and her past interns I still don’t completely know what to make of her! She is truly unique! She has told me some of what I will be doing in her e-mails and I would like to share that with you....
Quote:
We will be immersed in projects and you will get lots to do, perhaps more then you can imagine. Be prepared for a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities. You will learn all the care of each creature and assist with at least one project/paper for publication as well as one animal environment to be created or re created for increased animal enrichment. We are working towards TAOS (The Association of Sanctuaries) accreditation this spring. Like a zoo with AZA (American Zoo and Aquarium Association) accreditation this is a major project.
We have other Interns here as well who have been learning the whole routine and for them it is the final drill. To get into vet school having the record of caring for these creatures as a keeper shows the skills and hands on abilities you need to succeed. Anna, who is here now learning the animals, is a great Intern who can teach you quite a bit.
I looove having something this exciting to look forward to after the school semester is over. I have been having a very hard time adjusting to college and life in the Midwest and am so glad to have found such a great opportunity, which will bring me closer to my goals but is also in the place I am most comfortable.
If you don't have time to go through the sanctuary's whole website you should at least check out these 2 highlights!
Zoe the "white" zebra - http://www.threeringranch.org/zoe.htm
An exquisite Hawaiian stilt - http://www.threeringranch.org/shorebirds.htm
Thanks for reading!
