July 15, 2024

Meet our interns, the animal welfare leaders of the future

Kitty Block

A woman uses a stethoscope to listen to a pig's heart rate

Black Beauty Ranch veterinary technician intern Sydney Eggleston listens to Tulip the pig’s heart rate as part of a wellness exam at the sanctuary.

The HSUS

While Sydney Eggleston assists with veterinary procedures on animals such as a pig and macaque at our sanctuary in Texas, Black Beauty Ranch, Matt Watts starts his day in Georgia researching and writing about complex legal issues involving animals. Jessica Cruz logs in early from Washington State to read and compile breaking stories about animals to share with the Media Relations team, while, from Florida, Jazmin Crumb drafts factsheets and testimony for our Wildlife Protection team.

This is just a snapshot of the wide variety of work our current interns are doing. I recently had the opportunity to meet with our summer interns virtually to learn more about their interests in animal welfare and their future plans, and I look forward to meeting several of them in person at our Taking Action for Animals conference this week. Speaking with our interns never fails to strengthen my hope for the future of our humane movement.

Vote for the Humane Society of the United States’ internship program as one of America’s top 100.

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Liviu Pazargic / Alamy Stock photo

I’ve learned that Sydney has her sights set on veterinary school, and her current veterinary technician internship and last fall’s animal care internship at the sanctuary have solidified her interest in animal health. Jazmin also aspires to become a veterinarian. Matt attends law school and intends to use his education and internship experiences to address large-scale problems involving animal suffering. Jessica is excited to use this internship to learn as much as she can about animal welfare, media relations and how to raise awareness about animal cruelty.

Intern for the Wildlife Protection department, Jazmin Crumb.

The HSUS

Our internship program, launched more than two decades ago, has evolved ever since. Among other things, the program has become more inclusive by paying all interns, making interning viable for a wider range of candidates. Over the years, our program has also become more structured and supportive. Interns are invited to a series of staff presentations and meetings to broaden their knowledge and gain networking opportunities. Staff members offer informational interviews to help our interns deepen their understanding of careers in the field, animal protection issues, and the challenges and rewards of this work. We also invite interns to a forum featuring former interns who are now employees of the organization. The panel is driven by the interns’ questions so that they can learn about the panelists’ career trajectories and how they made the most of their internships.

I’m so proud that our team works to ensure that each intern has a meaningful, professional experience through hands-on work and mentorship.

The learning experience goes both ways: From our interns, both past and present, our staff has the chance to learn about how people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences are thinking about the animal welfare cause and their hopes for bettering society for animals. While performing their work, interns bring a fresh perspective to our staff.

Interns often share that their internship is the best one they’ve had; they’re doing real and impactful work, not busy-work. Plus, our human resources staff provide them with information about the recruitment process, job search tips and detailed advice on résumés, cover letters and job interviews. Interns can also schedule one-on-one career development discussions with members of our human resources team.

Law clerk intern for the Animal Protection Law department, Matt Watts.

The HSUS

At the center of our work is the demand to increase compassion and action to eradicate animal cruelty in its many forms. Because of this mentally and emotionally demanding work, we offer a compassion fatigue workshop to help interns learn how to stay productive and resilient for the long term.

We’re proud of our program and are vying for America’s top 100 internship program list as part of our National Intern Day celebration this month. You can help by voting for the Humane Society of the United States’ program until voting closes on July 18.

Intern for the Media Relations department, Jessica Cruz.

The HSUS

As our current interns wrap up their work with us and move into the next phases of their education and careers, I will be cheering them on.

Learn more about our internship program and keep up with current openings.

Follow Kitty Block @HSUSKittyBlock.

Rescuing Animals in Crisis , Protecting Wildlife , Creating Equity in Access to Pet Care

About the author

Kitty Block is President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and CEO of Humane Society International, the international affiliate of the HSUS

Meet our interns, the animal welfare leaders of the future

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