The month of June ended on a bittersweet note as we celebrated our all-too-brief time with Leslie Welshimer. Leslie joined Andaman Discoveries in late January, and though she was hired as an “intern,” the title feels wholly unworthy of the mark she forever left on the organization. Leslie dove headlong into the chaos on day one without complaint, and she found her footing almost immediately. She could always be counted on for her cheerful smile (even after the fourth power outage of the day), unwavering commitment to getting the job done, and for being the first person to volunteer to take on a new challenge. In just over five months Leslie accomplished a staggering amount of crucial work for us.

She came to Andaman Discoveries to combine her passions of travel, nature, and outdoor recreation with her background in communications and marketing. We have her tireless efforts to thank for completing several important award applications (and any fruits they may bear); she wrote copy for several new pages on the website; dusted the cobwebs off the Andaman Discoveries blog and filled it with lively stories of her experiences at Andaman Discoveries and of her travels in Thailand, creating a resource that will resonate for years to come; she helped settle and reassure new volunteers; managed to visit all of the communities and volunteer projects we serve; and you have her to thank for the bulk of this and the past several newsletters.

That list really just scratches the surface. Just as importantly, she truly loved the culture of Thailand and its people, and her desire to learn the language and make new friends never waned.

Leslie is now enjoying some domestic travel to see where her parents lived in Northeast Thailand more than 30 years ago. After that, she returns to Seattle, where she has agreed to continue to support Andaman Discoveries with media and university pitches … at least until she finds a full-time job, which, we suspect, may not take her very long. We wish Leslie the very best, and look forward to seeing her in Kuraburi again soon!