College Daze: “Two: Clemson Goodnight”

Hey Tigers! This is our first of a series of blog posts from our T4T members & fans about their college days.

Carrah Lingo, our Communication’s Associate, joined the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition in April 2014 and is now working full-time with us. Carrah graduated from Clemson University with a B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Social Sciences in May 2014. If you can ever find Carrah on Game day at Clemson, she is definitely a tiger at heart!

“As a former Clemson Tiger, I feel a sense of responsibility to do something to save our mascot from extinction. It means a lot to me to be a Clemson Tiger, but it wouldn't mean anything if they didn't exist,” said Carrah.

Carrah and I sit down to chat about Tigers for Tigers and her experiences.

S: Before we get start talking about Tigers for Tigers, let’s start with a couple of rapid-fire questions… Describe your college experience in three words:

C: Two, Clemson goodnight

S: What is your favorite restaurant in Clemson?

C: LOOSE CHANGE.

S: If you could re-live one of your college experiences again, what would that be?

C: Spring break #pcb2k13

S: What was your hardest class in college and why?

C: Accounting. It’s the whole reason I changed my minor from pre-business to social sciences. I ended up withdrawing, so does that still count?

S: Awesome! Ok, now we can move on to more questions about Tigers for Tigers. How did you get involved in the club?

C: I stumbled across the Tigers for Tigers table at Tiger Prowl, an annual organizations fair at Clemson. I wasn't really aware of the situation our mascot was in and shock value really got to me. The students were genuine and you could tell they cared about the issue. The second semester I went on trip with Clemson Tigers for Tigers to the big cat sanctuary CFAR (Central Florida Animal Reserve) and got hooked! When I returned, I ran for Public Relations officer and got the position. Senior year I was proud to call myself president for a club that worked so hard for a cause that means so much to our university.

S: Many of our students are pursuing wildlife or biology degrees. But you were a Communications Studies major. What was that experience like for you?

C: It was definitely a little intimidating to join such a science and conservation based organization. I found a way to incorporate my social media and writing skills to generate more outreach and awareness for the club, which is very important.

When you're trying to fundraise or raise awareness for such an important cause it's vital to utilize social media outlets and your campus resources. The more attention we get, the more people know about our cause. The more people who know about Tigers for Tigers, the better chance we have of saving tigers!

Tigers for Tigers is a club that gives you chance to stand out and use your strengths to grow the organization. Not a lot of on-campus organizations give you this freedom, and not a lot of on-campus organizations have students who are as passionate about the cause as students in Tigers for Tigers are.

S: What advice do you have for aspiring T4T leaders and members about T4T opportunities?

C: Tigers for Tigers is such a unique movement. You get real world experience working with students across the country to save an endangered species from going extinct. You're making a difference before you even graduate college. Whether you're interested in wildlife conservation, or marketing, if Tigers for Tigers is something you truly care about, put everything you have into it. You will be making the most important investment for your future career.

I genuinely enjoy working for the Coalition and its partners. It's not easy to find a job directly out of college today, but Tigers for Tigers provided me with the opportunity to pursue a career I'm interested in and for that I am so grateful!

I see amazing things in the near future for Tigers for Tigers. We have an awesome team of professionals ranging from the conservation world, to the marketing world who are such great assets to our organization. We're working together to rally "tigers" across the country to save our tigers in the wild, and we're committed to making T4T as successful as possible.

I’m proud to have Carrah on our team. She is a pleasure to work with, always full of great ideas, and I’m privileged that we can provide her with the opportunity to pursue her career goals and gain experience through T4T.

To hear more stories from our T4T students, follow us on facebook and twitter!

Go Tigers!