The Topic: This essay is about my experience working on my UMD Scholars Science & Global Change practicum project. It gave me the chance to help animals, learn about science in real life, and think about what I want to do in the future. I hope this helps other students plan their own practicum work. For my practicum, I worked in the application of science. I volunteered at an animal rescue called Hooves & Paws in Virginia. As the name suggests, the rescue takes in dogs, cats, farm animals, and some exotic pets that were abandoned or abused. While I was there, I helped with animal care and got to observe and assist with basic veterinary work.
I found the rescue because the co-owner and co-founder of the rescue, Joey Travers, is my dad’s best friend from childhood. He has always been outspoken about his love for animals and nature, and he was a big part in why I have a passion for them in my life. I have actually volunteered here before and knew a lot about Joey and the rescue already, which made it an easy decision to choose it as my site. If you're looking for a practicum site, my advice is to start early and consider all avenues. There are of course some obvious captions such as a research lab or something, but to maximize enjoyment I would start with things that align with your interests or major before choosing something that just seems like a good choice because it’s academic research.
At first, I helped with basic tasks like feeding animals, cleaning cages and enclosures, changing water, and keeping an eye on how the animals were acting. After I got more experience, I helped with giving medicine, preparing animals for vet exams or surgery, and recording health notes. I also watched some more advanced tasks like spaying, neutering, and microchipping. I didn’t do these on my own, but watching and asking questions helped me learn a lot.
I learned a lot about animal health and biology. I saw how diseases are spread and how to prevent them, why animals need certain vaccines, and how stress or poor nutrition can affect health. I also learned the steps vets take to treat different problems. I also learned that science touches everything. For example, global warming affected Hooves & Paws by forcing them to move from the west coast to the east coast due to increased temperatures that some of the farm animals couldn’t handle.
One thing that affected me beyond science was accountability. In the nonprofit and volunteering arena, it spurns a lot of involvement on others contributing their personal time and effort since all the work is unpaid and based on donations and write offs. This means that when you commit to something, especially volunteering to complete a task, you have to do what you signed up for and don’t be late! Which can halt all operations at a place like Hooves & Paws.
Before this, I liked science, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. As an information science major, my future plans are definitely along the lines of computers and coding, but I would still like to consistently volunteer at the very least once a month. I have also even taken Environmental Science courses when I can to fulfill gen-eds along with because of their interesting topics. My career plans have not changed much since completing the practicum, as I have an internship this summer writing scripts and testing code for HJF Advancement of Military Medicine, which has nothing to do with this topic. However, I now know that if I could get a job where I could do information science activities while working for a rescue or any other organization, that I would definitely like to take that opportunity since it is quite rewarding.
Working at the animal rescue was a great experience. I learned real science skills, got better at working with people and animals, and started thinking more about if I am a reliable person when it comes to commitments and putting my best foot forward. If you like animals or science, I definitely recommend this kind of practicum. It helped me grow and showed me that science is more than just something you study but it’s also something you use to make a difference.