Sample Interim Year Scenarios - "Jared"

Jared hated school, really hated it. He didn't like to be told what to do and didn't see the point of reading Silas Marner or suffering through algebra problems when he could be hiking in the woods with his Roger Tory Peterson guidebooks, quietly observing birds in their natural habitat. In fact, the only time he ever enjoyed school was when his class took a field trip. When his science class went to a local bird sanctuary, he was riveted by the presentation and nearly knocked his classmates down to get to the front of the room to hold an owl. Jared had no desire to attend college and, given that he hadn't graduated high school, he didn't have many college options anyhow.

When Jared came to the office for an initial meeting, he knew two things: he was fascinated by wildlife and he didn't ever want to go back to school. We discussed a number of wildlife internships in the US and he jumped at the chance to intern at a conservation center for birds-of-prey along the fall migration path out west. He would be catching, banding and tracking hawks.

We didn't hesitate to recommend him because, although school had been a disaster, his boss at the local animal shelter said that he was a great employee, conscientious and passionate because he was doing something he liked. As part of a deal he made with his parents, he agreed to take the GED in the summer, and successfully got his equivalency degree for high school before starting with the hawks that fall.

His fall internship was such a success that he was easily accepted at a wildlife sanctuary on the east coast in the spring, helping to care for injured animals. The following fall, after working construction for the summer, he did another internship at a national park off the coast of Virginia. Although the position was normally for college students, Jared's experience and enthusiasm won him the job. His year looked like this:

Following his third internship, Jared realized that he wanted to pursue a career working with wildlife and would need a college degree to do so. He got a job in January and began community college classes. A year later, he enrolled full-time at his state university, studying biology.