After this class a lot of people have told me they hate snakes. Venomous snakes are certainly something to be respected, but not something to fear, and certainly not something to hate. They aren’t malicious, don’t have ill intent toward you, and they don’t live just to bite some unsuspecting human. They just want to live their lives, which is often three decades long (and as many as 50!).
I absolutely hate being limited by emotions like hate and fear. Like many Americans, I used to hate public speaking. So I took a job teaching to classes of 100+ students at the Marine Special Operations School. Guess what I don’t hate anymore? If you hate/are afraid of snakes, this would be an awesome class to take to conquer that limitation head-on.
Closing Thoughts
This was a phenomenal class and a fun way to spend a weekend! The class was extremely professional, every student got personalized instruction, and safety was always prioritized. The other students were a fun, interesting group and the instructors were extremely passionate about what they do. And this gave me a skill to deal with snakes on my job, one those one-off snake calls (though not the tools, but with my reimbursed tuition I can invest in that).
If you really enjoy this, The Rattlesnake Conservancy also offers two Level 2 classes. Level 2C focuses on handling and caring for snakes in captivity. Level 2R covers handling snakes in a field research setting. Level 1 is a prerequisite for either of the Level 2 classes.
Long story short: I highly recommend this class for anyone who potentially deals with venomous snakes on the job, has an interest in these animals, or just wants an adventurous story for the water cooler on Monday morning!
