“I was inspired to apply for this internship after I started volunteering at the main shelter. I knew about the Wildlife program but doubted myself and was nervous about doing it, so I decided against it. After my first few shifts of volunteering, I quickly caught on that everyone here was incredibly welcoming and kind. Because of this, I decided to apply and go from there, and when I got picked, I cried because I really did not expect to even be considered. After starting with this internship, I have found out that the people in the wildlife department are also amazingly kind.

"I am hoping to learn the correct ways to interact and care for wild animals and how to set them up for success in being released. On TikTok, there are several videos from wildlife rehabilitators that I have seen that I always got a bad feeling from but could not figure out why. Now, I see many issues with how they interacted with those animals that they took in. I look forward to learning even more about appropriate interactions, ones that I didn't even think about before being taught. One example that I have already learned is that we (as humans) are predators. I already knew that, but never really thought about how scary we are to wild animals and why it requires us to be extra careful with how we act around them. I also just love learning new things about animals so that's a bonus!"