To be utterly frank, I’m probably going to throw a few puns into my posts over the course of the summer – but let’s all address the fact that I’m just winging it as I go. (Get it? Because I work with birds.) I got the amazing opportunity to return to a facility at which I had a previous, different internship this summer, working in an avian rescue and rehabilitation clinic for birds of prey. Returning home, to Charleston, to do what I love and hope to keep doing after graduation was a gift, and I’m using my time there to return in kind the chance and opportunity they’ve extended to me.
In addition to all of the work I’m already doing there, I’m currently undertaking a research project with data that the center has collected from the past twenty six years. Using this data, I hope to create a research paper that will help illuminate the changes in the patients that have come through the center and create a more complete idea of the seasonal and yearly trends of injury rates. I’m possibly going to go in more specifically on a certain bird, or injury type, or some other subset of data in order to create a more definitive result – right now, it’s looking like I’ll be researching entanglements in birds of prey, including owls, hawks, and eagles. I’m excited for where this will lead, and absolutely ecstatic about the possibilities it holds.
The Newcomb College Institute strives to cultivate leadership skills in undergraduate women; empower them by integrating research, community engagement and teaching; and to honor the memory of H. Sophie Newcomb by creating a women-centered experience in a co-ed learning institution. This internship can provide a route through which I can grow as a leader by both learning under the tutelage of the veterinary staff and applying this knowledge to attain self-sufficiency.
I find myself now standing at the beginning of the path to an exciting opportunity. Tulane and the spirit of Newcomb that still burns brightly here has helped me grow as future scientist and scholar, and for that I am already and intensely grateful.
And until next time….. have a picture of some really cute pileated woodpecker babies to tide you over!
