Many students often wonder about their futures as their time at Saint Leo nears its end. Where are they going to intern? Where will they get a job after graduation? Similarly, this was also the case for Emily Sheputis, who had graduated from Saint Leo University with a bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2016. She knew from a tender age that she wanted to work with animals. That love is what landed her in an internship at Survival Outreach Sanctuary (SOS), then ultimately on the Board of Directors there.
“I wanted to intern at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo to gain the experience needed in becoming a zoo keeper, which is my dream career. I was busy with exams and unfortunately did not get my application submitted on time,” Sheputis explained.
Eventually, her mother was the one who found the SOS internship. Sheputis contacted them and got the go head the very next day.
“I’m extremely fortunate my mother found and contacted the sanctuary. It was destined I didn’t get my application submitted on time,” said Sheputis.
SOS is a haven for distressed exotic animals. In 2000, it was Judy Watson, the founders of SOS, who was tasked with the sole purpose of “Rescuing exotic animals needing permanent homes.”
There are numerous persons who think that sanctuaries take animals out of the wild and keep them captivate. That notion is proven to be false at SOS. Watson explained that most of the animals they have obtained have come from “places that have closed down for animal welfare violations of from places that could no longer care for the animals properly.”
Why not place them back in the wild? Not everything is easier said than done. Some animals were raised by humans from infancy or were critically injured and, therefore, could not be placed back into the wild. There is one raccoon that took a fall at a young age and now suffers neurological problems, a tiger cub, formally a photo cub, that bites itself when it gets nervous, and tortoise who was fed food apart from its origin diet, which weakens their shell. These animals are unfit to be in the wild; they sadly would not last long.
“There are no programs available at this time to be able to return any of these animals to the country of their origin. At least not to live in a free state. I believe there are lions that have returned to Africa but are living in facilities and not wild,” Watson clarified.
The facility is maintaining its proper conditions by “hard work with only volunteers.” SOS gets a numerous amount of volunteers from USF which they deemed as, “helpful in many areas,” Watson stated.
Watson explained that education is not only important to her, but to SOS. This may be why she quickly gravitated to Sheputis and asked her to become member of their board after leaving Saint Leo
“We try to instill in people of all ages the importance of protection of our natural resources. We try to keep informed of the plights of exotic animals, both in captivity and those still living in the wild. We also enlighten people of any issues taking places so they can be aware of how they can help animals,” Watson enlightened.
Sheputis interjected that “Taking Biology courses at Saint Leo University was a long and tough road, but Saint Leo helped me improve my vision by giving me the knowledge I needed in order to become a zoo keeper. Biology is ‘the study of life, after all.”
Sheputis plans on becoming a Zookeeper at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums zoo, AZA, while balancing her part-time work at SOS, another zoo, and possibly at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. Steputis is “extremely happy” and has gained the “best experience” at SOS. She is also extremely thankful towards Judy Watson for, “Everything she does is for the animals, and her knowledge is incredible.”
Saint Leo would like to wish both Sheputis and Watson all the with SOS and other future endeavors.
For students who love wildlife and are seeking an internship, SOS is currently providing internships to willing and attentive volunteers.
