A Lasting Impression

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

This week was my last week of the internship at the ranch, and it was a very bittersweet ending. I felt a sense of joy and accomplishment upon finishing out my last week on the ranch, knowing that I had forced myself to live outside of my comfort zone for the entire summer. Although, on the other hand, I felt great sadness as I realized the internship was coming to an end. I had made so many great memories and developed several strong friendships over the course of the internship. I came to the realization that I would miss working on the ranch and working with the people there.

For my last week, I was given the chance to work on the different areas on the ranch, seemingly to have the opportunity to experience everything one last time. I was able to move and doctor cattle on horseback, make multiple hot-wire fences, and update records one last time. As summer seemed to wind down, the workload seemed to also get progressively lighter. We (the interns) spent much of our time this summer, aside from working cattle, mending things on the ranch and cleaning/organizing the various buildings. Therefore, by the time we were getting done working cattle for the day, we were able to get off work relatively early because much of the fixing and cleaning had already been accomplished.

One significant event that took place this week was my exit interview for the ranch. This was important in my opinion because it was an overview of my performance as an intern on the ranch. I was curious to know my strengths and weaknesses according to my supervisor. The feedback he gave me was useful as there were a lot of positive takeaways and he felt as though I was a great intern to have on the ranch. The one thing that he mentioned I could improve upon was communication as I have a shy personality; he said I have great input, but could be more vocal about it. Overall, this was helpful information to keep in mind in the future!

Besides this week, I was able to reflect on the relationships I have built throughout the internship. These connections could be very useful in the future. My roommate is also applying to vet schools at the moment, and it has been nice to have someone to relate to and ask questions as it pertains to the application process. The other intern’s family owns a large-scale ranch and mentioned us visiting, which would be an exciting experience. The other interns and myself have developed a great sense of friendship and I hope it will continue to be valuable in the future as well. Beyond this though, the other connections I made at the ranch, with my supervisors and other coworkers, could also be useful to have as they too have connections with outside work opportunities and vets.

Now that I have completed the internship, I am interested in the ways in which I can further utilize the experience outside of my veterinary school application. The skills obtained throughout the internship seemed to have opened a plethora of other areas of interest for myself, and I am excited to explore those interests further. I feel as though I could use this experience for my own future goals of owning and developing a small ranch as I have been able to witness a successful ranch on a larger scale. Aside from my own interests, I believe I could potentially use the experience for other job interests in the future!

Additionally, since the internship ends before the rest of the cattle are shipped, I have a multitude of questions regarding that process and what comes after. Even though I was able to witness one of the shipping days, I am still curious to know the process when its nearly triple the number of cattle. On a similar note, I am interested to see how the ranch functions after the cattle are shipped as that is the primary focus. I am sure there are still plenty of tasks to be completed with or without cattle on the ranch. I am interested in how that entire process plays out and the other responsibilities associated with it.

The skill set obtained from this internship will be extremely useful in my potential future career in the large animal field. I now have a basic understanding of abnormal behavior in large animals and some of the methods of treatment. Beyond this though, I also gained knowledge and experience in other aspects of ranching and ranch management. As an intern, we did numerous construction projects in addition to office work and record keeping. These various, but useful skills, could be further utilized in my future whether it’s in my future profession or for personal reasons.

The knowledge and experience gained from this experience will be extremely useful in the future in regard to applications and future careers. I plan to highlight this internship experience in my veterinary school application as I believe it will set me apart from other applicants. Aside from my vet school application, the experience gained could also help me with getting other jobs to help me through veterinary school. I would definitely be interested in working on another ranch in the future as I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the ranch, and I am going to miss all of the people and memories made there.

Submitted by: Sydney Thorvaldson
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team