Stephanie Holmes used her internship with Pima Animal Care Center to explore her interests in opening an animal shelter of her own.
Why did you choose this internship?
I picked my internship at Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) because I've been thinking about starting my own rescue for a while. I wanted to learn how everything operates behind the scenes to make it run smoothly.
What is unique about your situation that influenced your internship selection?
I'm really into animals, and after losing one of my last dogs, I realized this internship could give me two things: a chance to help animals and the opportunity to be around them again, plus I want to learn how to manage a rescue and see first-hand everything that goes into making it successful.
What was your favorite part of your internship?
The best part of my internship was taking dogs for walks and jotting down notes on their behavior outside the kennel to help them get adopted. It felt great knowing I was helping to reduce the time a pup spent in a kennel. There was this one dog I really pushed for to get off the euthanasia list and hopefully into a loving home. He ended up being fostered and adopted, and while I'm not sure how much of an impact I had, I like to think I played a role in his journey out of the shelter.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
The toughest part was realizing that many of the animals wouldn't find a home and would stay there until they might be euthanized. It was heartbreaking to learn that some animals, through no fault of their own, were deemed unadoptable because of human neglect, leaving the shelter with no option but to euthanize them. Making those kinds of choices is never easy, but sometimes it's unavoidable. This was a hard but necessary truth that I needed to experience about the nature of animal rescue work.
The biggest lesson I took away from this is that while I can't save every animal, I can do my best to help those at the shelter while they're there.
How has your internship experience influenced your plans for your future?
This internship has really made me reconsider my choice to start a rescue. I'm not saying I won't do it, but I'm definitely giving it more thought now, especially with all the emotional and physical effort required to make it successful.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for their internship?
If you're a student looking for an internship, my tip is to find something that sparks your interest or at least piques your curiosity. Take your time to explore your options. Also, don't wait until your final semester to start searching. Balancing a full-time job and an internship was tough for me, especially during my last semester when the pressure was really on.