Learning By Doing

The Wildlife Center of Texas again this year received grants from ExxonMobil Community Summer Job Program and Shell Summer Intern Program for full-time college interns for 8 weeks to assist us in providing wildlife care and environmental education to our community. Students learned about the importance of non-profits to the community.

For more information please visit http://volunteerhouston.org/programs/shell  and http://volunteerhouston.org/programs/exxon.

Thank you ExxonMobil and Shell!

Hi, we are Aimee and Kristen, the summer interns at The Wildlife Center of Texas. The Wildlife Center has been given the financial opportunity to provide two internships each summer, sponsored by ExxonMobil and Shell. ExxonMobil and Shell sponsor these internships to educate college students on non-profit organizations in the Houston area and to encourage the younger generation to consider jobs and other volunteering opportunities in the non-profit world. These two organizations specifically target education, environment, and diversity in the various internships they sponsor with different non-profit organizations.

Our roles as interns at The Wildlife Center of Texas include nearly every aspect of the responsibilities that this organization holds. We do the daily cleaning- inside and outside, tube feeding doves and opossums, medicating any animal that comes in, nutrition and handling for all animals, computer work and intake, interact with other volunteers, give thorough tours of the wildlife center for other volunteer organizations, and occasionally take the educational ambassadors to events. We both work at The Wildlife Center of Texas between 35 and 40 hours each week during this eight-week long internship.

Both of us have interests in jobs concerning wildlife. Aimee is majoring in Wildlife, Fisheries and Sciences with an emphasis in Animal Behavior and minoring in Psychology at Texas A&M University; she would like to find a job as an animal behaviorist at a zoo. Kristen is majoring in Biomedical Science, also at Texas A&M University, and is applying to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M this summer. The internship, for Aimee, has given her the chance to explore the vast world of wildlife and gain experience that will allow her to succeed in her future endeavors. From working at the wildlife center, Kristen has discovered that her passion lies with wildlife, and would like to work as a wildlife veterinarian specialist.

We have appreciated the support from our sponsors, ExxonMobil and Shell, which have provided the opportunity for us to work at The Wildlife Center of Texas to gain the knowledge and experience that will remain with us throughout our future careers. We also thank Volunteer Houston for acting as hosts for the program, and the directors and volunteers of The Wildlife Center of Texas for having us as their interns and taking us under their wing.