This past May, I attended the Cheetah Conservation Internship in South Africa. My time in South Africa was full of new experiences, learning opportunities, and pure enjoyment. Attending this program was easily one of the best experiences of my life, and I could talk for hours about it. However, for the sake of whoever is reading this, I’ll keep it short and sweet!

A typical day on this program consisted of seven work hours, from 8am-12pm, and 2pm-5pm. Most mornings would be spent doing a blend of cleaning enclosures, enrichment time with the animals, and various learning activities. We had the opportunity to walk with some of the cheetahs out on the reserve, shadow a veterinary visit for a serval, and practice our darting and tracking skills in some friendly competitions. In the afternoons, we often received lectures from one of the owners, talking about the rewilding process, as well as cheetah anatomy, genetics, and regulation of re-release. However, the majority of the afternoon was spent feeding the cheetahs, lions, hyenas, and small cats. We even got to spend time and take pictures with some of the cheetahs and small cats while they ate! After 5pm we were off for the day, and my group spent much of our time socializing in the lodge and playing card games.

I can confidently say that this program has impacted me positively in both professional and personal aspects. Professionally, from the perspective of going to veterinary school, this project provided me with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with exotic animals, and it will look great on a resumé. An internship-based study abroad like this one demonstrates hands-on skills, and this program specifically shows that I have experience working with a wide variety of animals. I am also increasingly drawn to the idea of exotic medicine, which was not something I had overly considered prior to this program. I had such a blast working with the animals on this conservation project, and the idea of potentially working with the same species in the future makes me excited.

I have never been the most outgoing person, so I was a little nervous going into this program, even though I had a friend going with me. I was nervous about traveling so far away from home without my family, since Africa is the first continent I’ve been to besides North America. I simply did not know what to expect and was anxious to navigate on my own. I was also pretty nervous about meeting new people, knowing that I would be spending the entire next two weeks with them. Fortunately, I was very lucky to have made great connections with the girls in my cabin, as well as several others on the program. I established strong bonds with my cabin girls, and our quick connections made me realize that although it is okay to be nervous, it all will work itself out. I was able to navigate my way through the program with friends by my side, allowing me to more fully embrace the culture of South Africa. I feel that I have gained confidence socially, and I now feel much less apprehensive about traveling and doing other things on my own.

Additionally, I feel that I have grown in these past two weeks mentally. I have always been the person to live my life in the fast lane, always thinking about the next thing to do, so I made it a goal during this program to encouragemyself to take a step back and just appreciate where I’m at and what I’m doing. I wanted to work on being more content in the ‘now.’ This entire program was such a surreal experience, so I didn’t have much issue with just simply appreciating the fact that I was in Africa. It is still crazy to me now, sitting at home writing this that I was in Africa! To me, this practice was very important, and it genuinely just made me feel good, so I definitely want to bring this energy with me to more aspects of my life and take more time to appreciate all of the good things.

I could sit and talk about the Running Wild Conservation for days, and I will be relieving my time there for months to come. This program was 100% one of the best experiences of my life, and I am so thankful to have been immersed in such an incredible project. The things Running Wild does and the goals they have are so inspiring, and it makes me want to make a difference in nature the way they are. I am proud to say I was a part of their rewilding project, and I am hopeful that I will be able to visit again in the future.

Lastly, to debunk a little Africa myth, it is cold sometimes! We had 40-degree mornings some days, and most days didn’t rise past 75 degrees. Africa is not always sunny in the desert like many people believe!

Name: Kerrigan Stehlik
Status: Senior
Major: Animal Science
Hometown: East Lansing, Michigan
Program: Cheetah Conservation Internship in South Africa