You must'nt be afriad to dream a little bigger darling...

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."- Harriet Tubman

I have heard this quote time and time again but it has never really stuck or meant anything to me up until this past year in my life.

Last summer I had the opportunity of a lifetime placed in front of me. It was a dream I had started a few months prior that then became my reality. Last summer I was chosen for a position as a summer intern in the magnificent state of Alaska at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. I was only there for three months but in that short amount of time my life was drastically changed for the better. Within the first few weeks of my internship, my passion, my dreams, my sense of purpose, were all revealed to me in one huge mess of chaos that I would have to sort out over the next few months to follow.

It has now been about three months since I have been back from the best summer of my entire life and I am still sorting out all of that chaos. I still have no idea what exactly I want to do with my life, there are just too many options out there to only pick one! That is pretty much the big "obstacle" that I have left to sort out but I have plenty of time to explore that "mountain" when the time comes.

The things that I do know are:
My passion is for animals and nature. I want to be the voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. I want to save the lives of creatures no matter how big or small. I want to preserve their habitats for the generations to come so that they are able to see the beauty that I still see today. I want to fight for the lives that people see as "expendable" and "unimportant". I want to create an environment for animals to feel safe and loved. I want to save lives. I want to make a difference. My purpose is living out my passion and following my dreams.

Now, some might think I am crazy or still on a "high" from the trip of a lifetime. Well, those are probably both true. Lets face it, to change the world and make a difference, you have to have a bit of crazy flowing through your veins and the memories and experiences I had at the center in Alaska will never leave me. (To just give you a glimpse of what I did in Alaska, here are a few pictures) While at the center I was blessed with the opportunity to work up close with some pretty amazing animals.   

Everyone meet Snappy. He is a great horned owl that I had the privileged of working with. Here I am working on glove training with this handsome bird. Glove training is a form of enrichment that many facilities do with their birds. Not only did Snappy have to go through training, but I did as well and I admit, I was a bit terrified at first but obviously I overcame that fear!

 Here we have Toxin the bald eagle. Myself along with one of my fellow AWCC interns,(the one on the left) had the opportunity to volunteer one of our days off each week at Bird TLC in Anchorage, AK where we got to work with more amazing animals! Toxin was found laying next to a body of water and was on deaths doorstep when Bird TLC received him. Based on tests, this fella had toxins in his system, hence the name. In the picture, we are helping him eat some salmon. Due to how weak he was when he came in, he could barely eat and keep food down so someone had to help him out. When we left that day we honestly didnt know how much our efforts really helped him...well a week later he was eating on his own and moved outside to a larger area and a few weeks after that released back into the wild. (to learn more about Bird TLC, you can visit them at http://www.birdtlc.net )

 This sweet girl is Randi, a wood bison calf. She was about 2 weeks old in this picture. Randi was unfortunately orphaned; her mother passed away during birth but luckily for this girl, she had someone willing to be her new mom. For a few weeks Randi wouldnt drink her bottle and would run from anyone who tried. Then something changed (most likely she became really hungry) and she started taking her bottle again. For the next 2 months, I was able to be her "mama wood bison" and she is definitely one animal I will never forget . The image of her trotting up to me, tongue hanging out her mouth, eyes wide and locked in on a huge bottle full of milk in my hand will forever be etched in my memory. Love you sweet girl.

Last but not least we have Jack the moose. This picture captured the ending to the best and most terrifying experience I had at the center. For most of you who know me, you all know moose are my favorite animal and that was pretty much what caught my attention when learning about the internship. Well, as you can see, I was able to work up close with these magnificent creatures. This photo was taken after hours of filming for a crew that came to the center. My task at one point was to run along side him (barely keeping up) and make sure he stayed away from the film crew. Like I said before, best most terrifying experience ever. Although he was intimidating pretty much all of the time, I Loved working with Jack. The fact that he had the ability to run me over at any given moment and basically could have killed me at anytime if he wanted but chose not to is incredible when you think about it. (Mom dont freak out) The respect and trust that goes on between an animal and  a human is quite extraordinary and beautiful. (to learn more about AWCC you can visit them at http://www.alaskawildlife.org )

With all of that being said, I was recently presented with another "a dream come true" opportunity. This time it is through my school and is in the beautiful country of Belize. Over spring break I will (hopefully) be studying "Wildlife Medicine and Conservation in the Tropics." Its a week long course that is basically right up my ally in what I have decided to focus on which is conservation. If we do not conserve what we have now, there wont be any animals left to protect.

The different areas that this program will cover are;
Wildlife medical and conservation issues and approaches, emergency medicine and triage protocol, basic medical examination of wild animals, comparative wildlife anatomy, osteology and radiography, suturing, immobilization and restraint, zoonotic diseases, spay and neuter surgery assistance, avian wing wraps and IM bone pins, understanding the role and key challenges and opportunities for veterinarians in wildlife medicine and conservation, purpose and role of zoos in animal conservation, challenges of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, international and local regulatory and practical applications associated with wildlife conservation, the roles of community based conservation organizations and critical conservation issues as well as a few other areas.

As you can see, this is not a vacation. This is purely an educational opportunity for myself and the other students to gain as much knowledge and hands on experience as we can. These opportunities are the ones you need to jump on and the ones that help you get the "jobs" that are not really jobs to you.

Right now, in the field that I want to go into I am severely lacking in a big area, medicine. Based on my experiences, I have seen first hand how critical it is to have somewhat of a veterinary/medical background when it comes to conservation and this program is a way to get my foot in the door. This is an opportunity to gain the experience that one needs to have in order to get the job to gain more experience.

Obviously this opportunity is not free..they never are..but some how, some way I am going to make it happen. Currently I am working on trying to find any scholarships or grants out there to help myself as well as the other students to pay for this. On top of that I am brain storming fundraising ideas. So if anyone reading this has a great idea, please let me know, I need all the help I can get! If you for some lovely reason want to help make this "dream come true" opportunity happen and would like to donate, that is always an option too(: Along with all that, would you guys please pray for this opportunity and everyone involved. Pray for safety, patience and strength. (Everyone can use a little more of all that in their lives)

Please do not misinterpret this post as one begging for money, that is not what I am trying to do at all. The purpose of this post was to open this journey up to you all and share in the experiences that are to come. For this program I am required to keep a daily journal which can be a personal blog which obviously is what I will be using. I know this trip is a few months away but that time is going to fly by and I am pretty positive I will have plenty more to share before the trip even happens. So follow along if you would like as I take a step towards a new life changing opportunity!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and God bless!
-Em

E-Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
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