OK, this is hardly fair, since I'm Maris' parent but, you should know that she's demonstrated a gift for connecting with animals since she was a small child. She knew, instinctively, when to be gentle and when to be playful to engage with animals of all kinds. And they really do seem to sense her caring nature! Maris is incredibly responsible; the kind of person who shows up when she says she will or calls in advance to let you know she's running 6 minutes late (which she seldom does!). She wants the best for animals in her care and has proven so with pets she's had at home, her stints at "horse camp" (pigs, chickens, rabbits, etc...) and when volunteering at the Humane Society from the time she was 12 or 13 through senior year of high school. While balancing her studies, being a kind and compassionate friend to long-term and newly met peers, caring for pets would complete the picture for Maris until she finishes school and moves on to the mountainside menagerie she dreams of running. She's a good one!