Worked with elephants, mahouts (elephant owners), and village people. Lived in a homestay to be able to better work with the Thai people. Cut, watered, and fertilized the bamboo, elephant grass, and sugar cane used to feed the elephants in the program. Walked the elephants to the river to provide exercise for the elephants and keep them clean and cool. Made Elephant Poo Paper, paper made from elephant poo and tree bark and sold by the villagers at 100% of proceeds going to helping care for the elephants. Contributed to an ongoing recycling and waste reduction project that worked to eliminate plastic bags and bottles, glass, and cans in the village.
Volunteered six days a week with animals including elephants, horses, lions, cheetah, leopard, tigers, hyenas, servals, mongooses, zebras, and giraffes. Closely follow specific instructions to be safe in the enclosures, including being very aware of my surroundings and how each person and animal was interacting within them. Regularly cleaned enclosures, performed general maintenance and building tasks, fed the animals, trained the animals to keep them fit, and helped to provide the animals with a clean and safe environment away from poachers and other threats.
During my internship with Finn Partners I went to Freedom House Detroit to practice interview skills with refugees seeking political asylum. Presented proper United States interview practices and conducted mock interviews to help prepare refugees for future job interviews to better their chances for American employment.