Casey Pearce
Year: Class of 2021 (Rising Junior)
Major: Biology & Environmental Studies
Internship Provider: New Mexico Wildlife Center
Title: Hospital Intern
Location: Española, NM
What are you doing for your internship? What are some of your responsibilities?
On a day-to-day basis I take care of injured wildlife and help to prepare them for release into the wild. I deal with wild animals from Golden Eagles, to Elk, to Bull Snakes, to the common House Finch. I have learned the basics of cleaning and flushing wounds, administering medications, mixing medications, preparing diets for all animals, hand feeding baby animals, processing and developing x-rays, and many more tasks. I am currently learning how to properly dress wounds, assess fractures, and stabilize fractures. I am also currently writing for their social media in the form of hospital news updates on our patients and releases.
What do you like most about your internship so far? What has been your favorite part of the experience?
In my internship so far, I really enjoy hand feeding baby birds and providing medical care. My favorite part of the experience is being able to do releases of animals, so far I have been able to release a Mountain Cottontail and a Grosbeak.
Which skills have you learned or strengthened during your internship that you think will help when applying for jobs/graduate schools?
I have learned a great deal about everyday animal husbandry and caring for injured wildlife. As I would like to do something in the field of wildlife biology, these are excellent skills that will take me very far in my career field. I have had the chance to handle all different kinds of wildlife from songbirds, to raptors, to small mammals, and even ungulates! Perhaps more importantly, I have had a lot of time to do self reflection on how I work in a team and how to better understand and get along with my team members. We also interact with the public in a professional manner on a daily basis; educating the public is an invaluable experience in this job.
How has your time and experience at Denison prepared you for this internship? How have you used your liberal arts education during your internship?
My time at Denison has helped me prepare to balance a busy schedule and multitask very efficiently. Denison has introduced me to a huge variety of people from all different backgrounds and in my internship I have met even more people that I knew how to work with and talk to effectively. I have had an easy transition here from Denison’s level of comprehensive education; I feel as if I was very well prepared for this internship due to excellency of my education at Denison and the wide variety of topics we covered.
