For most students, summer marks a shift in priorities. Instead of hitting the books, students get summer jobs in an effort to earn enough money to last them until winter break. But summer is also when students undergo extended tours of volunteering.

Take sophomore biology major Annie Wyer, for example. In her quest to become a large animal veterinarian, Wyer is volunteering at an elephant nature park in Thailand.

“I thought it would be a good insight to this kind of lifestyle,” Wyer said, adding that she is also interested in Asian culture.

For two weeks, Wyer will be working close with the elephants, including walking, feeding and cleaning them. Then, she will spend another two weeks in the jungle, although Wyer said she was unsure about what she would be doing then.

Wyer’s trip was organized through International Student Volunteers, a program she learned about when two representatives visited her sociology class. After researching the program and attending an informational meeting, Wyer was set.

“It’s a really cool program they have set up. So I decided to do it,” Wyer said.

Wyer is not the only student going abroad for volunteer work. Sophomore biology major Alex Bean will volunteer for two months in Peru.

“I’m going to be taking inventory of plants and animals so they know how many there are in a given area,” Bean said.

Bean said he looked for something that allowed him to do work related to his major and let him speak Spanish while he was still in college.

“It’ll give you the best time to travel,” Bean said. He found the program through Global Volunteering Network.

But some students cannot make it overseas. Scott Hudek, sophomore political science major, said he and other students in the NIU student volunteer group, Huskie Disaster Relief Program, hoped to go overseas to do volunteer work.

“There are areas everywhere in the world that need help,” Hudek said.

Because of a lack of funding, however, the group was forced to focus on more local projects. In the spring, the group traveled to New Orleans to help with the relief there.

“It was kind of driven home to us that a lot more work needs to be done,” Hudek said. “A lot was done, but a lot more work needs to be done.”

Hudek said the group will travel to Iowa to aid in relief for flooding and tornado damage.