It was a busy summer for University of Minnesota Duluth junior women's basketball player Dominique Hart.

Hart spent two weeks in Thailand helping animals and learning what it's like to be a veterinarian by traveling with study-abroad organization Loop Abroad. Hart was selected as part of a small team that volunteered giving care at a dog shelter and spent a week working directly with rescued elephants at an elephant sanctuary.

Loop Abroad has animal science, marine biology, and veterinary programs for students and young adults age 14 to 30, and offers financial aid and fundraising help. Programs range from two weeks in summer to a full semester abroad. Hart was selected in the veterinary programs based on her transcript, admissions essay, and professional references.

The Veterinary Service program brings students to Thailand for two weeks to volunteer alongside veterinarians from the United States and Thailand. For one week, Hart and her team volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand to work hands-on with the giant animals and learn about animal rescue and conservation on a larger scale. The Elephant Nature Park is home to over 60 elephants who have been rescued from trekking, logging, or forced breeding programs. At the Elephant Nature Park, Hart helped to feed and care for elephants, as well as learn about their diagnoses alongside an elephant vet. The Elephant Nature Park is also home to over 1,000 animals, including cats, dogs, water buffalo, horses, and cows, and is sustained in huge part by the work of weekly volunteers.

For the other week, Hart volunteered at the Animal Rescue Kingdom dog shelter and helped to run Loop Abroad's Dog Rescue Clinic in Chiang Mai, Thailand. These shelters are home to over 200 dogs who have been rescued after being abandoned, beaten, or abused. By providing check-ups and cleanings, diagnosing and treating ear and eye problems, taking and testing blood, administering vaccines, cleaning and treating wounds, and helping with sterilization surgeries, the volunteer units were able to help support the health and well-being of these dogs.

"Being able to help the dogs and elephants face to face, and live among them, made me feel like I was genuinely making the world a better place, said Hart, who is majoring in Biology. "My life has changed for the better."