Rylee Chelette holds up a halibut after a day of fishing. When her family moved to Wrangell and bought a boat, the high school senior knew she wanted to specialize in marine life as a veterinarian.
"I have always had a passion for animals," said senior Rylee Chelette. "When I was younger, I had cats, I had dogs, I had fish and I had hermit crabs I loved to play with. And I begged my mom to let me have goats, but she didn't fall for it."
That love of all creatures great and small led Chelette to volunteer her efforts at the St. Frances Animal Shelter for her high school senior project. Not only will she be volunteering her time to care for the animals where possible, she will be putting her grant writing skills to use.
Last year, then-principal Bob Davis had Chelette take the newly formed grant writing class. Even though she admits it's the class she learned the most from, she balked at taking it.
"(I said), 'I do not want to take this. I have no idea what I'm doing. I suck at writing,'" she recalled. "And then, I started doing it and got to really like it because I got to help others. Then we got to raise a bunch of money, too. That class taught me to write strong essays."
After taking the class, Chelette said she recommends that anyone who gets the opportunity should take it because "it teaches you more than you think it does."
She recently met with members of the St. Frances board to figure out what grants she could apply for to bring in needed funds for the shelter. After reviewing potential grants, board member Joan Sargent said they decided on the Hugs and Kisses Animal Fund with a maximum grant of $1,000 and the Doris Day Foundation which has no limit on grant amounts.
"Rylee will specifically ask for a $1,0000 (grant) for assistance with our vaccination/neuter/spay program from the Hugs and Kisses Animal Fund," Sargent said. The animal shelter in 2022 spent $2,275 to spay and/or neuter 17 animals and an additional $710 to vaccinate eight animals.
Sargent said Chelette will also write a letter to the Doris Day Foundation asking for $4,000. St. Frances will also seek in-kind donations from the Hugs and Kisses organization, in which the fund can put the shelter in touch with corporate sponsors Purina and Arm and Hammer to help with dry food and cat litter supplies.
For Chelette, the project is just one step in her pursuit to become a veterinarian, a career she's wanted since she was 8 years old. But not just any veterinarian. Upon moving to Wrangell, she has wanted to specialize in marine veterinarian medicine.
"The first thing my dad wanted was a boat. We got a boat and we were on it all the time, and I was seeing whales and porpoises and I loved it," Chelette said. "Last summer, I went crabbing all summer and every time we caught something that wasn't a crab, I was freaking out."
For example, she shared a picture saved on her phone of a brittle star, a type of starfish that can grow to a large size. "I didn't even know those things existed."
Chelette grew was born in Louisiana and raised there and in Arkansas, moving to Wrangell just a couple years ago when her dad got a job at the Tyee Lake power plant. She couldn't imagine living in Alaska but fell in love with it once they relocated.
She plans to start her veterinary education with the University of Washington in Seattle but then continuing elsewhere.
"I plan to go to school for nine years, so that way, when I'm not traveling around and working on marine animals, I still have a solid base and can (care for domesticated animals)," she said. "I will go to pre-vet school for four years. After that, there are only 15 actual vet schools in the U.S. If I can't get in, I'll probably go to Canada and do my actual vet school. That or Australia. I haven't made up my mind yet."
When it comes to her favorite animal, Chelette said it's a toss-up between the white tiger, since she's a Louisiana State University fan, and a goat.
"They're annoying but they're so cute, but baby goats," she said. "They're ugly when they're older."
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