I am an Animal Science major who went on the Cheetah Conservation Internship in South Africa. As someone who has always wanted to work with exotics, this program was something that immediately caught my eye. This was a wonderful opportunity to not only expand my portfolio for vet school, but to also gain more knowledge about animal conservation. In addition, this experience will also allow me to enhance my knowledge about a new place I have never been before.

My initial expectations for this program I thought would be similar to my work as a veterinary assistant - cleaning the enclosures, preparing food, feeding the animals, helping staff with chores, etc. I only had a vague understanding of what the program entailed which included working with cheetahs.

Traveling and living in South Africa has expanded my worldview in many ways. Getting to experience new foods (like Zebra), languages, cultural history, hospitality etc. allowed me to become more open to trying new things and be open to more opportunities.

Additionally, I learned more about how conservation is mainly driven by tourism, how breeding permits are cheap and easy to attain, and how many laws allow unregulated poaching and mistreatment to occur. This has opened my eyes to the importance of people like the Running Wild Cheetah Conservation because of their exclusive dedication to the preservation of these animals, and not just for profit. This experience has made me look into the treatment of the animals at our own zoos in America when comparing the enclosures of those at Running Wild Cheetah Conservation and helped me individually.

I have grown to be more open to new experiences and learned to say yes to more opportunities. I have also learned to trust myself and put myself out there more. Additionally, I also had many of my groupmates to lean on when I was met with difficulties. So, these new bonds helped me establish more trust in others when I am faced with an obstacle. Overall, this program has not only helped me make more connections but become more confident in myself as well.

This program has allowed me to build my experience in practical skills and knowledge. For example, learning more about biology, veterinary care, genetics, medical technology (tranquilization), etc. through the lectures has been useful. It was interesting to learn about the sensitivity of tranquilization and that it is usually done by a licensed veterinarian. Also, practicals like the zebra necropsy were very helpful in getting an in-depth look into exotic animals in a more medical procedure.

As someone who wants to pursue the veterinary field, learning more about animal behavior and animal handling of exotic species has been tremendously helpful in my desired profession. Overall, the hands-on approach of the program has made me grow rapidly in my comfortability of handling exotic animals and expanding my knowledge.

Though this program was only two weeks, I can say that I have found that my passion lies with conservation work. I am awestruck by the dedication and passion all of the staff from Running Wild Cheetah Conservation have for their animals. This field gave me a sense of reward that I haven’t felt among any of my other animal jobs. This program ultimately helped me ignite a passion for conservation work that I hope to pursue in my professional career.

This journey has helped me grow in so many ways. In that, I have not only expanded my knowledge but also expanded my circle of friends as well. This experience has made me more confident in myself and my abilities and pushed me to stretch outside my comfort zone in many aspects. I hope I can now use this new-found self-confidence to help push me further in my life.

Though this program didn’t change my entire worldview, it definitely helped me expand it. There is still so much work that needs to be done regarding the animal field across the world. I hope that one day I may impact the world just as much as this program impacted me!

Name: Alivia West
Status: Senior
Major: Animal Science
Hometown: Santa Rosa Valley, California
Program: Cheetah Conservation Internship in South Africa