The information he’s tucking away in his memory as an intern at Wolfwood Refuge, a haven near Ignacio for wolf dogs, could be useful if he decides to study veterinary medicine, Charles Rohde says.
Charles is among 72 juniors at Animas High School who on Friday will wrap up three-week internships required to graduate.
Most of the 72-member AHS class of 2016 found work/study projects with businesses, nonprofits, public agencies or educational organizations around the Four Corners. But 25 went out of state and one found a project in Japan.
Now in its fourth year, the program is called Leading Internships for New Knowledge, the acronym of which – LINK – says that participants are getting connected to challenges that prepare them for up to a lifetime of endeavor.
Charles, the son of Tom and Annabelle Rohde, heard about Wolfwood Refuge from one of this year’s AHS seniors who interned last year with Paula Watson, the founder of the wolf-dog rescue organization.
Wolfwood, a federally licensed refuge, takes in unwanted or homeless wolf dogs – most of them abused – and offers physical and mental healing and socialization with their brethren and with humans, Watson said.
“We see 50 groups a year either through visits here or taking the dogs to the audience,” said Watson, who founded Wolfwood 20 years ago by chance almost. She had gone to Flagstaff, Arizona, to adopt a golden retriever, but ended up with a wolf dog. Once back in Colorado, the wolf dog became lonely so she took another and then another.
Wolf dogs are not for adoption, she said. They don’t make good pets.
The hours Charles spends at Wolfwood are a combination of providing basic care – feeding, cleaning pens and socializing with 61 wolf dogs – and researching a project of his choosing related to the internship.
“Charles is researching the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and their impact on other wildlife and the environment,” said Zoë Nelsen, who coordinates the junior-year internships. “He also has to keep a blog.”
He’s learned from Watson some trivia about wolf dogs as well as what makes them tick, Charles said. The hybrid wolf dog has a long tail in order to cover its nose on cold nights. And the wolf dog’s wild half – the wolf – has a symbiotic relationship with the raven. Ravens lead wolves to prey and in turn are rewarded with feasting on the carrion.
Wolfwood has given him a good foundation for studying veterinary medicine, a field of interest, Charles said. But he’s putting college and a hitch in the Navy ahead of it.
Internships are as varied as the students who take them on, Nelsen said. For example:
Rebekah Kuster is in Boston working on projects with Clean Water Action.
Raven Fallon-Cyr is in Japan working on a photography- and culture-oriented project.
All juniors will meet the public from 5 to 7 p.m. April 2 in the Fort Lewis College Student Union ballroom to discuss their three-week adventure in the working world.
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If you go
The LINK Internship Exhibition will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. April 2 in the FLC Student Union Ballroom. Juniors will share their individual projects and experiences from their three-week internships with businesses and organizations locally and further afield.
