Wesleyan Student Spends Summer with the Birds

released: 9/21/2009

     

While most West Virginia Wesleyan students worked at summer jobs or completed internships near their homes, Morgan LeBerth spent this summer over 2,000 miles from his house with the birds. The junior criminal justice major from Gahanna, OH worked at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka.

The Center provides innovative veterinary practices to Alaska’s raptors. The 17-acre campus is home to nearly 200 birds each year. The Center’s goal is to introduce birds back into the wild once they are healed and retrained in raptor life skills such as flying in the enclosed 20,000 square-foot Bald Eagle Flying Center. Over 40,000 persons visit the private non-profit organization each year.

LeBerth is required to complete two summers of paid-volunteer work in order to fulfill requirements of the Bonner Scholarship, a community service and leadership scholarship program. He learned of the Alaska opportunity through a Wesleyan and Bonner Program graduate, Chris Blackburn ’04, who also spent one summer working at the Center.

LeBerth, who has always been fascinated with birds, worked as a wildlife interpreter. “My primary job was to give tours and greet guests who visited the Center,” he said. “My tours could be as small as two or as large as 180 and I met people from all over the world.”

In addition to working in customer relations, LeBerth also assisted with the upkeep of the Center. He also participated in the rescue of a crow and had the opportunity to work with eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls. “The owls love to hoot to music,” said LeBerth. “The eagles act like people and each has a different personality. Sometimes one would be grouchy, especially with a new handler. Others were shy, while some were aggressive. One female bird came to the Bald Eagle Flight Training Center after being hit by a car. She lost her back talon, but was able to fly. She demanded a bath once a day and when she was on stage with her handlers, she would often grab their eye glasses.”

LeBerth, an Eagle Scout who completed a 12-day hike at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2006, hopes to return to the Raptor Center next summer. “I would love to learn how to become a handler,” he stated. “It is a job that requires great patience as it takes time to build relationships with eagles.”

The Wesleyan student also enjoyed the long hours of Alaska sunlight, which provided opportunities for sightseeing. “Sitka is land locked, but I was able to hike and kayak,” noted LeBerth. “I saw bald eagles everywhere along with several brown bears. The whole Alaskan experience was truly unforgettable and life-changing.”

During his first two years at Wesleyan, LeBerth has volunteered at The Clothes Closet and at the Valley Green Learning Center. This fall, he has moved into an administrative role as a project development intern at the College’s Center for Community Engagement. In addition to his Bonner-related activities, he is the philanthropic chair for Theta Chi fraternity and a member of Wesleyan’s Percussion Ensemble.

LeBerth has found all of his volunteer experiences to be most rewarding. “It is always a great feeling to see the gratitude in the eyes of those you are helping,” he concluded. From reading people to hunting prey like an eagle, the Wesleyan student will hope to use volunteer experiences for life after college and an eventual career with the Department of Homeland Security.