Week 4 - Jennifer L.

This week I was given permission to touch all the animals!! I am so excited. I finally get to love on these amazing animals. Their fur feels amazing. Slowka, one of our asian leopards, has fur that feels like silk. Serabi is the female lion. She won't stop licking my hand and rubbing against the cage so that I can reach all her favorite spots to be pet. I've really started to build relationships with the animals as well as the volunteers. Most of the volunteers are really nice and hard working. I'm really enjoying my time here. Now that the animals are comfortable with me and I can interact with them, it makes all the work I do for them easier. Lately I've been doing some manual labor. I've had to mulch quite a bit all around the reserve, and I've had to put some wheel barrels together. I've also had to fill in some ditches that they dug to put in piping. All of this in the hot sun is really taxing. I've been crashing really hard when I go to bed and I always take two showers because I smell like poop, raw meat, and sweat when I get home. My parents and my boyfriend came on a tour this week. It was really fun having them involved in what I've been so passionate doing this summer. I'm happy they're getting to see all the animals I've been ranting about all the time.

Week 3 - Jennifer L.

This week, we got to take the two youngest tigers, Seze and Toruk, on walks around the reserve. I don't hold the leash but I get to walk next to them. It's really an amazing experience. This was the first time that I got to be near one of the tigers without a cage in the way. It's an amazing feeling being so close to such a magnificent animal with nothing separating us. These are the times that all the poop cleaning really pays off. Although it's not fun to talk about, removing poop is a large part of my job. I have to sweep the path clean on tour days so that the guests don't step in African Geese poop. Then I have to lock out all the animals in the small part of their cage in order to find their bathroom spot and shovel it into a bucket. Some of the animals don't have lock outs, which means that I can't enter their cage to clean the poop. They have made makeshift scoopers for us to use. They used the pole of a duster attached to a large kitchen spoon. I have to put the spoon through the holes of the cage, get the poop in the spoon, and then pull the spoon back out the cage. Sometimes the poop falls off the spoon and I have to do it all over again. Once I've collected all the poop, I take it to the poop pit. The poop pit is in the back of the reserve where none of the guests go. We put lime over the poop and then bury it in the dirt. Thanks to the lime, it actually doesn't smell that bad. Shoveling feces is well worth the experience of being with these animals.

Week 2 - Jennifer L.

Now that the senior volunteers have gotten to know me a little bit, they've started to give me more responsibility. I am not only making the diets now, but I am giving the animals the food. I am also helping on tours. The reserve allows tours every Wednesday and Saturday. They last about two hours long and describe why the reserve exists, each animal's personal story, and general information about the type of animals that are housed. It is a feeding tour, which means the guests get to watch the carnivorous animals feed. This is my favorite part of the tour because some of the tigers and leopards are food aggressive. They get very upset when you are near them while they are eating and they growl and jump at the cage. They put on quite a show. My job during the tours is crowd control. I make sure the guests are standing at least five feet back from any cage at all times and are not teasing the animals or interrupting the tour guide. Every tour day, the tigers get bubble baths and all the animals get their cage scooped for poop. The animals are so fun to play with in their tub. Chakra, a very energetic and playful white tiger, will purposely splash everyone with her bubbles. When we fill her water, sometimes she will take her front paws and dump all the water out of the bucket, just to make us mad. I love her attitude though. Some of the animals are sniffing me out more now. I think they're getting used to me being around all the time.

Week 1 - Jennifer L.

My very first day at the reserve, I was already allowed to pet one of the Siberian lynxes and go in the cage with the White Nosed Coati. The work is very hard, I can tell already. It's extremely hot and I'm always in direct sunlight. There is only a porta potty to use as a rest room. Most of my work is very physical and requires a lot of energy. I am also making the diets for the animals, which means sorting through a lot of produce as well as working with hundreds of pounds of raw meat with my bare hands. This is not a job for a princess. All the hard work is well worth it though. Although I am not allowed to pet any of the larger animals yet, I am allowed to get right up to their cages and interact with them. The animals are amazing. They have a lot of tigers, leopards (black as well), wolves, two lions, foxes, a coati, two cappybaras, Indonesian squirrels, chickens, goats, a deer, three lynxes, four cougars, and a cockatiel. The animals are amazing and they are so sweet! Most of them especially the tigers and one of the lions, will come right up to me and lay their bodies against the fence for me to pet them. I can't wait until I can touch them. I feel bad not petting them when they want me to. I understand the importance of getting the animal accustomed to before I touch them because they can be dangerous to people they don't know. I love the reserve already! I can't wait until next week.

Seeing it all come to place!

Freshmen Orientation was a success! I felt really bad that I had to miss so much of it with RA training going on at the same time. Not only was no one mad at me, but everyone was so supportive!

It is really cool seeing plans fall into place. Everything that we have planned the last few months all in print and product. The time frames went really smoothly, there were many fun morning energizers that brought us together, and all the Bonners were alert and responsive. I keep bragging about Lead Team, but it is honestly the truth in my mind. I don't think we could have a better combination of leaders working together.

As I reflect from the past few years, I've realized that I've grown so much as a person. I came in as a freshman a timid, quiet 18 year old. I'm no longer the same person I was then. I am still shy at times, but I've definitely learn to be a little more extroverted when I need to. Meeting the incoming Bonners at dinner was a great experience because of that. I wasn't afraid to talk to them and get to know them and welcoming to the family. Everyone was so friendly and the new excitement was quite thrilling. I hope I continue to grow and pick up new skills along the way as a senior intern... especially with everyone's help! I'm counting on you all :)

Also, I must say that I think the retreat was awesome... Courtney did a great job cooking the dinner the first night. Tiffany's gift was the perfect touch to begin the weekend (thank you). I think the Bonners had a really good time getting to know each other and learning about each other. There was enough food for every which is always a good thing. (I hope we had enough since it took at least three trips to Walmart! haha). The class based activity was probably one of the most important for me. We reflected as a class on how much we have grown and matured over the years. Reminiscing from our freshman year brought up some good memories that I had to hold back so that I wouldn't start tearing up. During the final reflection before we went home, I think the most memorable part was that Taylor enjoyed the retreat. It really did mean a lot that he had a positive attitude and shared that he did have fun. Thanks, Taylor :)

This year is going to unfold many opportunities and obstacles, but I don't think anything that I can't handle, as long as I have Amanda, Alex and the Lead Team with me. And of course all the Bonners to make everything possible.

Acquaintances turn to new friendships

Working with Lead Team has been amazing! I really do think that we have an awesome team. Everyone works really well together and oddly enough with all our different personalities, we compliment each other. I'm really glad that I get to work with Darian, Julie, and Scarlett this year...not that I don't about Courtney or Jarian. I've worked with them before and I know how wonderful they are. If Darian wasn't on Lead Team, I don't think I would have gotten to know and be such good friends with him. The same with Julie. She's probably one of the sweetest people I know. One night after incoming Bonner Orientation, Darian, Julie and Alex wanted to visit me in Chaudoin but I was at a staff meeting so I couldn't' answer my phone. Afterwards I met them in the LBC and we just hung out in the computer lab downstairs for awhile before going back to my room and hanging out more. Even though I have only gotten to know them on a deeper level for a short amount of time, I've learned so much about each one of them. Julie and I are more alike that i thought we would be! I have no doubt that our friendship will continue to grow as the year continues. I'm truly blessed to have all this support from my peers/LT members, Amanda and my fellow senior intern.

PS... our Lead Team this year is already on the ball. As soon as we announced who were in their families, many of them contacted them and created FB groups to start planning family meetings. I keep saying this, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a great, successful year.

and it all wraps up

This summer has been an awesome experience. I loved working closely with Amanda, Linh and Alex on all of these projects for Bonner. I am really excited to start my semester working with SMA on the lecture and with Provost Paul on the Outcasts United book feast. I especially can't wait to meet my family and get to know all of the new Bonners. This semester is going to be amazing!

I am really positive about our year ahead on Lead Team; I think we have a great group with a lot of innovative ideas that will make this year special for a whole new group of Bonners. Even though my SOS is over, the work has only begun. We have a ton of things to accomplish this year and I'm sure we will have no problem doing it all!