The Honors College and Volunteer LSU team up each year to restore cemeteries in historic downtown Baton Rouge.
The Wildlife Society at the annual Southeastern Wildlife Conclave at Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN, in March 2012.
Chess Club hosts Wizard's Chess on the Parade Grounds at LSU each year. The game uses a 16'x16' chess board that I made in 2012.
The Honors College and Volunteer LSU team up each year to restore cemeteries in historic downtown Baton Rouge.
Student Organizations
I have been an active member of the LSU community through involvement in multiple student-run organizations. Each of these organizations, whether leisure, professional, or service-oriented, has taught me the value of interpersonal communication, leadership, and self-discipline.
Honors College Student Council
I was an active member of the Honors College Student Council (HCSC) throughout my four years at LSU, and served as Secretary and Treasurer in the 2013-2014 academic year. HCSC is dedicated to organizing service and social events for students in the Honors College at LSU. Since 2011, we have hosted an annual Mardi Gras Bash to benefit St. Jude's Hospital, and an annual Halloween Party to collect canned goods donations to benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. In Fall 2013, I also served as an Honors Welcome leader and Community Bound project leader..
The Wildlife Society, LSU Chapter
I joined The Wildlife Society (TWS) student chapter in Fall 2011, and I am currently serving as the Secretary. I record meeting minutes, keep track of members, and assist with the logistics of club meetings and events. This year, I managed our involvement in Ocean Commotion, an annual event held in the Pete Maravitch Assembly Center (PMAC) at LSU. Our exhibit featured jellyfish crafted out of paper mache and plastic bags to demonstrate to children how garbage is often mistaken for food by many creatures in the ocean. TWS participates in the Southeastern Wildlife Conclave, hosted by the National Wildlife Society at different universities in the southeast each year. The event is a three-day competition and educational conference, in which students display their skills in various fields, such as: plant and wildlife ID, marksmanship, flyfishing, orienteering, and quiz bowl; in addition to a large team competition that utilizes the unique skills and experiences of each team member to complete an assortment of tasks or problems. I have been one of five members on the Quiz Bowl team in both 2012 and 2013. In my first year with TWS, we represented LSU at Conclave for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Chess Club at LSU
After the original chess club disbanded years ago, I worked with a friend to found a new chess club in the 2011-2012 academic year. I was Secretary for two years, and assisted with outreach to local schools to begin volunteering at middle and high school chess club meetings, to tutor students on strategies, self-discipline, and patience. We provided one-on-one guidance to students at the Mentorship Academy, who improved their skills enough to attend a chess tournament in New Orleans in the Spring of 2013.
Taken at the Koala Conservation Centre, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. 19 June 2013
Our special-interest volunteer group from LSU at The Nobbies on Phillip Island.
Interns attended ReptiCon in September 2013, to exhibit education animals to the public.
Myself and a teen Zoo Krewe member presenting biofacts during Member's Night, 2013.
Our special-interest volunteer group from LSU at The Nobbies on Phillip Island.
Volunteer Experiences
In addition to my activities at LSU, I regularly volunteer off campus to gain experience in a variety of fields. I am a volunteer animal educator at the Baton Rouge Zoo, an intern at Barn Hill Preserve, and I traveled to Australia with International Student Volunteers to work on habitat restoration projects for the little penguin.
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo
I began volunteering at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo in the Fall of 2011. Volunteers may choose to work either in the Education Department, or alongside a zookeeper in the main exhibits. My intent was to try both, however, after only one day volunteering in Education, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I started out small, only assisting regular employees with elephant talks and Safari Theater shows; but after a few months, I was entrusted with hosting some elephant talks on my own, and even running some stations at zoo events unsupervised. Recently, I have been able to host several Safari Theater shows, in which I present a small animal (usually a snake, owl, lizard, or chinchilla) to a group of up to 20 zoo guests. After a brief description of the animal's biology and behavior, I walk around and give the guests and opportunity to see it up close and touch it if they are willing. I have also been on several Safari Night Tours, in which I assist a regular employee with leading a group (often a girl scout troop or class field trip) on an overnight tour of the zoo. Safari Night campers are given a special animal show inside the Education building just before lights-out. Each Safari Night tour counts for 18 hours of volunteer service.
Barn Hill Preserve
Barn Hill Preserve opened in the Spring of 2013. As part of the first cohort of interns, my responsibilities with the organization are varied. In my first quarter, I attended two educational events, two workshops, and logged over 15 hours of work at the Barn Hill facility. Educational events included ReptiCon, in which interns educated reptile-enthusiasts about several of our animal ambassadors, and the pumpkin patch, which involved leading school or church groups through the patch and various activities. During Barn Hill's workshops, I learned how to perform a physical on raptors (mainly macaws and cockatoos), and how to feed the many baby animal ambassadors, including the young zebra, kangaroo joey, and baby porcupine. Since Barn Hill is still new, interns spend facility hours completing daily tasks, such as feeding and cleaning, performing landscape work, and constructing new enclosures for incoming animal ambassadors.
ISV - Australia
In June 2013, I traveled with International Student Volunteers (ISV) to Australia. ISV selected eight ecology and biology students from LSU to serve on a two-week volunteer project on Phillip Island to restore habitat for the little blue penguin. We worked alongside Penguin Parade employees buidling nest boxes, propagating native plants, and controlling invasive species. The volunteer project was followed by a two-week adventure tour in which we joined other teams from various projects on a trip up the east coast. We visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, rappelled down the Blue Mountains, went surfing in Byron Bay, explored Fraser Island and Airlie Beach, and went thrill-seeking in Cairns. My experience in Australia gave me the chance to visit many historic sites, gain new skills in carpentry and operating farming and landscaping equipment, and to speak with residents of Phillip Island and members of the Tjapukai aboriginal tribe.