Ampersand
Ampersand is the Student Journal of our collective experiences at internship. I found it very valuable to reflect on my experience at internship to really get the most out of it. While writing my article for Ampersand I had time to throughly think out what I took away from my work experience. Even the things I didn't love about my internship became very valuable information for what direction I don't want to head in for future occupation, once I had time to think. Ampersand is also very beneficial for other student who are considering a internship and I hope my experiences help them make the most of their internship.
Doing what you love
The significance of internship
My passion for animals has existed since before I remember. It wasn't until recently my mother was telling me that I would refused to eat meat in kindergarten. I dont know where this passion came from. To me it seems so natural that i'm more curious why others don't value animals the way I do. I’ve always wanted to contribute to the well being of as many animals as I can over the course of my life. The question I am now facing is do I want to make this passion into my career or simply support it with a career in a different field.
When internship rolled around I immediately decided to apply to the Fund For Animals Wildlife Center. Without looking back I completed my resume, cover letter, and emailed Ms. Ali Crumpacker, the director of the organization. On my first day this feeling only intensified. I woke up at 5 am and the technical side of animal care had presented itself to me. When I have worked with animals in the past it wasn't exactly profession or orderly. So at first forms seemed counterintuitive to my mission. Sitting in my inbox before the sun had risen was an email alerting me that my background check papers were never sent in, after figuring out the paperwork I was on my way. I left as the sun was blanketing over my neighborhood. As I continued my long drive through the mountains to Ramona my anticipation grew with each curve of the road.
When I arrived I was handed more forms and a book of quizzes and information. As eager as I was to begin directly helping wildlife I understood that to be useful member of this organization I needed to understand how things work, where things were located, and lots of background information. As a highly functioning group of people it was remarkable to me what they could accomplish. This left the job of training to myself. My first task with animals was caring for the 40 feral cats on the property. This included many things from feeding, documenting, medicating, enrichment, and cleaning. No matter what my task was it was very precise and orderly. My days there become a routine. Somedays I felt more like I was in a laboratory as I washed, rinsed, and bleached each cat food plate to prepare it for tomorrows cat food. Although this experience could feel dry at times it never felt boring or worthless in the least bit. I felt privileged to be assisting such dedicated people and helping the overall function of the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center. As my time there grew to an end I met a man that works part time as an Animal Cop. Something I had always titled myself jokingly. As I considered all of my favorite parts of internship and all the parts that I personally didn't connect with, I became more interested in possibly being on the front line of animal rescue. My internship introduced me to a lot of possible occupations in the same field beside the one I was working with directly.
Over the course of my experience at internship I have learned a lot about animals but even more so about myself. My experience at the Fund For Animals Wildlife Center was challenging and an incredible learning experience however I couldn't imagine self working in that kind of a environment as an adult. I need to consider both my passion and where I fall into it. This experience taught me that I want to do what I love everyday. My favorite part of internship was waking up and knowing that these cats were waiting and anticipating my arrival. This made waking up easy and worthwhile. It fueled me through my work day and made me feel successful when I left. It is more important to me to spend my day doing what I love than to have more money in my free time. As much as we like to think that our jobs are only a chore to support our real lives, work usually ends up accounts for a large portion of life. Internship taught me the value of doing what I love and helped me down the right path to fulfilling both my love for animals and a career path that is compatible with me.
The significance of internship
My passion for animals has existed since before I remember. It wasn't until recently my mother was telling me that I would refused to eat meat in kindergarten. I dont know where this passion came from. To me it seems so natural that i'm more curious why others don't value animals the way I do. I’ve always wanted to contribute to the well being of as many animals as I can over the course of my life. The question I am now facing is do I want to make this passion into my career or simply support it with a career in a different field.
When internship rolled around I immediately decided to apply to the Fund For Animals Wildlife Center. Without looking back I completed my resume, cover letter, and emailed Ms. Ali Crumpacker, the director of the organization. On my first day this feeling only intensified. I woke up at 5 am and the technical side of animal care had presented itself to me. When I have worked with animals in the past it wasn't exactly profession or orderly. So at first forms seemed counterintuitive to my mission. Sitting in my inbox before the sun had risen was an email alerting me that my background check papers were never sent in, after figuring out the paperwork I was on my way. I left as the sun was blanketing over my neighborhood. As I continued my long drive through the mountains to Ramona my anticipation grew with each curve of the road.
When I arrived I was handed more forms and a book of quizzes and information. As eager as I was to begin directly helping wildlife I understood that to be useful member of this organization I needed to understand how things work, where things were located, and lots of background information. As a highly functioning group of people it was remarkable to me what they could accomplish. This left the job of training to myself. My first task with animals was caring for the 40 feral cats on the property. This included many things from feeding, documenting, medicating, enrichment, and cleaning. No matter what my task was it was very precise and orderly. My days there become a routine. Somedays I felt more like I was in a laboratory as I washed, rinsed, and bleached each cat food plate to prepare it for tomorrows cat food. Although this experience could feel dry at times it never felt boring or worthless in the least bit. I felt privileged to be assisting such dedicated people and helping the overall function of the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center. As my time there grew to an end I met a man that works part time as an Animal Cop. Something I had always titled myself jokingly. As I considered all of my favorite parts of internship and all the parts that I personally didn't connect with, I became more interested in possibly being on the front line of animal rescue. My internship introduced me to a lot of possible occupations in the same field beside the one I was working with directly.
Over the course of my experience at internship I have learned a lot about animals but even more so about myself. My experience at the Fund For Animals Wildlife Center was challenging and an incredible learning experience however I couldn't imagine self working in that kind of a environment as an adult. I need to consider both my passion and where I fall into it. This experience taught me that I want to do what I love everyday. My favorite part of internship was waking up and knowing that these cats were waiting and anticipating my arrival. This made waking up easy and worthwhile. It fueled me through my work day and made me feel successful when I left. It is more important to me to spend my day doing what I love than to have more money in my free time. As much as we like to think that our jobs are only a chore to support our real lives, work usually ends up accounts for a large portion of life. Internship taught me the value of doing what I love and helped me down the right path to fulfilling both my love for animals and a career path that is compatible with me.
Reflection
I am really proud of my article for Ampersand. This was always a project I was nervous about but it seemed to be over before I knew it. Although there was a lot of pressure it was one of the easiest writing projects this school year. It seemed to just flow out of me. This is because I have so much to say about my internship experience. It has taught me so much. I want to share my wisdom and help future students choose a internship and hopfully a career that is something they love to do. Before internship I didn't understand how important that is. It is the biggest lesson I have learned this acedemic year and I think its some of the most valuable advice you can receive regarding your career path. I am thankful I learned it in such a curial period of my life where my future is all right in front of me.
I am really proud of my article for Ampersand. This was always a project I was nervous about but it seemed to be over before I knew it. Although there was a lot of pressure it was one of the easiest writing projects this school year. It seemed to just flow out of me. This is because I have so much to say about my internship experience. It has taught me so much. I want to share my wisdom and help future students choose a internship and hopfully a career that is something they love to do. Before internship I didn't understand how important that is. It is the biggest lesson I have learned this acedemic year and I think its some of the most valuable advice you can receive regarding your career path. I am thankful I learned it in such a curial period of my life where my future is all right in front of me.