More than ten weeks at Big Cat Rescue make me think of everything I have learned since I arrived here, and it’s time for a bit of self-reflection…

In addition to the incredible amount of things I learned about big cats, I learned quite a bit about myself, team-building, motivation, inspiration and leadership. These are all things that I can bring back with me into the “real world”, and apply to both my career and volunteering.

• I am rather competitive
• I love to mentor and teach people
• Giving tours and educating a group of 20+ people is fun, and I didn’t feel shy or nervous
• Every staff member at BCR is also volunteering
• Every board member at BCR is also volunteering (I’d love to see this implemented at BEBHS)
• Number 7 (give praise and tell people when they did a good job) is key to team leadership
• A LOT can be accomplished with a group of motivated and passionate people
• Saying “thank you” goes a long way
• A bit of silliness and goofing around makes working together so much more fun
• I learned how to make requests of others and standing up for my needs without (hopefully) coming across as nagging
• I am a bit of a control freak, but trying to loosen up
• If you feel passionate about something, you have the most important tool to inspire people
• Gamification is a good form of incentive  – both offline and online
• For a team leader, it helps to share the bigger goal of a project as well as the “why” in addition to the “how” in order to get buy-in from the team
• I want to be part of something bigger than me and contribute in a meaningful way
• If we don’t make a mistake once in a while, it means that we are not learning anymore
• Sometimes age is just a number 🙂

The two most important things I have learned are:

1. Big Cat Rescue is an amazing organization that will forever have a place in my heart.
2. Private ownership of wild animals needs to be banned.