Lha Tshering is a postgraduate Environmental Science student at UWA, a former forester (ranger) with Bhutan’s national parks department, and recently completed a literature review and report into horse racing industry standards during his internship with Lisa Baker MLA, Member for Maylands.
“My review and report on the use of whips and tongue ties in the horse racing industry may be a tiny piece of work, but I have hopes that it will help protect the welfare of animals in the future,” Lha said.
Ms Baker, whose electorate office was one of three State Members of Parliament to host McCusker Centre for Citizenship interns over the Winter uni break, said that Lha had exceeded her expectations for an intern, producing a report that would make a practical difference.
“Lha produced a high-quality report that will influence new policy for government,” she said.
Ms Baker and her team were so impressed with Lha’s diligence, commitment to the project and achievements, that they nominated him for a McCusker Centre for Citizenship Outstanding Intern Award.
Lha said the internship had helped him gain insights into social justice, community development, and working with the community in a way that he hadn’t through other units and assignments.
“Conducting the literature review and coming to a conclusion on these practises in horse racing industry in a relatively short amount of time was challenging,” Lha said.
“With support from Ms Baker and the team, I was able to complete the review and report… I personally feel I have achieved more than what I initially thought possible.
“The internship was an awesome opportunity to meet a wonderful supervisor and staff who were so kind, respectful and always willing to help anyone, anywhere. It instilled in me the sense of the real social capital in an office working environment, and I realised through this experience that being a leader is what matters the most and not being a boss.”