Current student Keertti Sinnan shared the following about being an Intern at Sweetbriar Nature Center …
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
I assisted senior wildlife rehabilitators with natural science education, the direct care of permanently disabled animals, and the rehabilitation of local wildlife, including deer, foxes, opossums, moles, turtles, owls, woodpeckers, and hawks. In the clinic, I helped with patient in-take exams, medication administration, tube feedings, and medical procedures, such as shell fracture repairs, amputations, and fly larva removal. My responsibilities also included preparing specialized diets for patients and syringe-feeding baby birds. To promote community education, I answered phone calls from Long Island residents about sick or injured animals, mentored middle school students participating in Sweetbriar’s week-long Wildlife Rehabilitation Camp, and drafted informational posts on the center’s social media account.
How did you find this internship?
A veterinarian from my externship last summer mentioned it.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
My supervisor took the time to learn each of the interns’ interests and gave us each more opportunities to work cases or procedures catering to those passions. For example, she would ask me to assist her more on surgeries because of my veterinary aspirations while she would invite the intern passionate about birding to handle rare avian species.
What did you find challenging?
Imposter syndrome. There would be many times where I would feel as though I was an inadequate pre-vet student and I was taking longer than I should have to learn a new animal care skill. Examples of these lessons would be tube-feeding formula to a baby rabbit or syringe-feeding crop milk to a baby mourning dove. I also felt an added guilt that the longer I took to carry out the skill that was just demonstrated for me, the more I was stressing out the animal I was practicing it on. Nevertheless, my supervisor reminded me that she had been practicing for 22 years and that’s why it looked so much easier when she performed the same procedures. Overtime, I was able to remind myself of that as well whenever I felt I was becoming overly self-critical.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
Oftentimes when I think of working with wildlife, I think “international” and I think of flagship species like tigers and pandas. While I definitely want an experience like that in the future, it didn’t work out for me this summer. However, working at a local wildlife center really helped me appreciate the biodiversity in my own backyard. During my internship, over 75 native species passed through the clinic and it opened my eyes to the numerous zoonotic diseases and local extinctions occurring in my own community. I would encourage you to explore how acting locally shapes how you think globally as well.
About the Organization
Sweetbriar Nature Center is a private not-for-profit, 501c3 corporation. Through education and examples, ECSS encourages responsible decision making, appreciation, and respect for the unique wildlife and ecosystems found on Long Island.
