Along with witnessing these animals up close, Harris also had the opportunity to work with them directly. “During my time in the program, I transferred a sable, took part in a necropsy on a snake to see why it died, and dehorned a wildebeest with an infected horn,” she recalls. “I attended the game-capture school and learned how to transport and monitor animals once they were darted [tranquilized].

“We also heard lectures on how to manage a wildlife park, how to deal with disease in the park, what diseases these animals can contract, and how to track and manage animal populations,” she says. “A lot of parks actually let nature care for a lot of things. So while the role of the veterinarian in the wild is important, it's just as important to allow for the influence of nature.”

It turns out Harris is no stranger to exotic wildlife adventure. The summer before she enrolled at Penn State, she accompanied her veterinarian father—a Penn State alumnus and part-owner of Smoketown Veterinary Hospital in Lancaster County—on a veterinary continuing-education trip to the Galapagos Islands. “That trip gave me the chance to see wildlife that can't be seen anywhere else in the world,” she says. “I learned about the value of preservation and also learned that I love traveling and visiting new places.”

Harris plans to attend veterinary school after graduating in May 2008. She may not know yet where she will ply her trade, but she's already discovered that there is a world of possibilities.

—Kyle Bohunicky