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Have Passion...will travel

My career with the Lynchburg Humane Society has been rather short, relatively speaking, but what I will take with me will last a lifetime. The first thing I want to say is that I am not leaving the Lynchburg Humane Society because I necessarily want to. Due to life changing events, I am moving several states away and as much as I love this organization, that commute might be a bit long. If I could take everything that entails the Lynchburg Humane Society with me to Florida, I would.

I will be honest - this is not what I saw myself doing after I graduated from Virginia Tech last May. Five years ago when I decided to go back to school, I did it because I wasn’t satisfied with my current job. It was a good job, but it just wasn’t fulfilling. So I asked myself, what am I passionate about? The answer was animals. I wanted to work in the agriculture field, perhaps working on regulations regarding how livestock animals are cared for and making it a more humane field. So I pursued a degree in Animal and Poultry Sciences.

After graduation, my husband’s job led us to Lynchburg. I searched for jobs that pertained to my degree and that I would be passionate about. I was getting very frustrated as the realization hit that there was nothing for me in Lynchburg. So I decided to use my abundance of free time to volunteer at the Lynchburg Humane Society. I have worked at another humane organization in the past, and also volunteered at many of them as well. So even though I wouldn’t be getting paid for my work, I knew would at least feel fulfilled and passionate about what I was doing. Then an animal care attendant position opened up and I applied for it and was hired. So there I was, feeding, watering, caring for, and scooping poop for the love of the animals. And I have to tell you, I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was hard work, it didn’t pay well, and in the middle of the summer after scooping poop all day, I didn’t smell all that great. But it was what I had wanted all along, it was fulfilling and I was very passionate about my work.

After a couple of months of working as an animal care attendant, I moved into the development and outreach coordinator position. I continued to feel very passionate about what I was doing and being a part of such a progressive organization, I couldn’t have asked for more. I found my true passion, and now I can’t imagine working in any other industry.

What I have seen and learned here is knowledge that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.To see all of the new ideas, plans and policies that have been developed here to help save the lives of these homeless animals is nothing but amazing. And working with others that share my passion is not like anything I have ever experienced before. I see such a great future for this organization, and part of me is sad that I won’t be here for that. But my hope is that I will find an organization in my next destination that is as open-minded, ever changing, and always improving like the Lynchburg Humane Society is.

I know it sounds like I am putting this organization up on a pedestal. Is the Lynchburg Humane Society perfect? Of course not. But the important thing is that this organization recognizes that and is improving every day.

It’s been a long road to get to a place in my life that I know what I need to be doing. My wish is that my journey doesn’t end here and that as my future holds a career that I can use all I have learned here. While I can’t take this organization with me to Florida, I can take all of these great ideas and all that I have learned with me. Thank you Lynchburg Humane Society for making me realize what feeling passionate about a job is all about.

Comments

  1. Becky GMarch 4, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    My best wishes to you Jill where ever you find that special job that you're passionate about. Thank you for all you have done while at LHS.

    ReplyDelete

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