Guest Blogger Tuesday: TRC Team Member Shahbaz Khan

We continue our Guest Blogger Tuesday with another special person.  Shahbaz Khan is a University of Minnesota student, and TRC’s marketing intern.  We are sure that after you read his post, you’ll know why we wanted him to start working here as quickly as we could hire him!  Shahbaz isn’t waiting until he graduates to do great things.  He is a valued member of our TRC team, and we look forward each week to working with him. (P.S. – we had already hired him when he shared with us that in English, Shahbaz translates to "King of Falcons".)

"A year and four months ago, I got a call that changed my life. That call was made by no other than The Raptor Center. I was offered a Marketing, Social Media and Special Events internship. I knew I interviewed well, but I had zero experience, just switched majors and frankly, I thought I had no business getting paid to work anywhere in the field at that point. But, there was one thing I knew I had: passion. 

It just so happened that The Raptor Center valued my passion and after my time here, it’s clear why: everyone that’s a part of this organization, from the volunteers, to the staff, to the kind people that donate time and time again (that’s you!) are passionate about The Raptor Center’s initiatives. Now, I’m not going to act like I knew a thing about raptors (or animals) in the least prior to being hired. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But, after seeing the amount of work the staff puts in and the ease in which they’re able to teach people (especially me), I learned bit by bit. 

If you would have told me I’d still be working at The Raptor Center when I was first hired, I’d most definitely be surprised. Now, I don’t think there’s much that could stop me from being involved with The Raptor Center. The thing about this organization that inspires me is the fact that no one treats it like work, it’s something that each volunteer and employee genuinely cares about. It’s a dream job. The same holds true for me. 

This organization has taught me so much. The knowledge I’ve gained is not limited to raptors, but about what passion and determination can do. I hope that The Raptor Center continues to inspire all of you, as it has for me"