My Other Experiences

Besides my Disney College Program, I've had some other really cool internship experiences in the past few years! If any of you are interested in my background in this field, here's some information for you. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know!

Animal Department Intern - Greenville Zoo - Greenville, SC

As the Animal Department Intern at the Greenville Zoo, I was blessed with so many incredible learning opportunities and amazing experiences. I was able to work with giraffes, lions, primates, leopards, birds, reptiles, and so many more amazing animals. The experience taught me a lot about husbandry and training. I essentially shadowed zookeepers and provided help whenever needed, particularly with feeding, cleaning, training, and enrichment activities. 

The cute giraffe in the picture with me is Walter, my favorite guy at the Greenville Zoo and probably the hungriest giraffe you'll ever meet! He taught me so much about how to work with large animals and was amazing to work with and learn from. 

Marine Mammal Training Intern - National Aquarium - Baltimore, MD 

As the Marine Mammal Training Intern at the National Aquarium, I had the opportunity to work with 8 Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins and their awesome trainers. I learned the basics of marine mammal training and husbandry and was exposed to operant conditioning, which is the technique used by most animal trainers.

The dolphin posing with me to the right is Bayley, the youngest dolphin at the National Aquarium. She was the subject of my research project, where I examined window avoidance in response to crowd size. Bayley definitely held a special place in my heart and was a joy to work with (and looks really cute in pictures too!)

Spirit, Jade, and Foster are the other dolphins pictured and are just some more of the many amazing animals I worked with during my internship at the National Aquarium. I learned so much and truly value this experience for what it taught me about husbandry and training. It was a dream come true to work with marine mammal trainers and I'm looking forward to learning more about the field in the future!

Study Abroad Opportunities - India and Turks & Caicos

In March 2015, I traveled to India to study biodiversity and conservation in India's National Parks. During this two-week study abroad experience, I was able to track and observe four wild tigers, which is extremely impressive considering there are only 3,200 wild tigers left! I also observed much of India's natural history in their National Parks, including langur monkeys, gaurs, deer, and numerous birds.  I also got to check off seeing one of the great wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal - from my bucket list! Visiting this beautiful country was an incredible experience and I gained such an appreciation for the conservation efforts of endangered species, especially the tiger.

During the summer of 2015, I travelled to the small island of South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands to complete a study abroad experience in Marine Monitoring and Management. South Caicos was absolutely beautiful and I adored having the ocean as my classroom every day. I loved being able to apply what I had learned in the classroom to real-life scenarios. As a class, we completed an island conch assessment, calculated the total economic value of the seagrass beds surrounding the island, created an environmental impact analysis, and learned the scientific and common names of over 90 marine organisms! Additionally, I got to hone my scuba-diving and snorkeling skills and learn about the culture of South Caicos. I fell in love with the island, adored the people in my program, and had the time of my life using the ocean as my classroom!