
The Champions for Giving Animals a Voice
“Where do I belong?
“What should I be doing?
And…“Who am I?”
During our college years, these are some of the recurring thoughts we ask ourselves. This special time in our life is one of those seminal moments where we define ourselves: with the major we choose, the clubs we join, the friends we make. We often think we should know it all by the time we turn our tassels.
For many though, those questions continue. Years well beyond commencement, some are still searching. And some still are simply waiting for it to come to them.
There is a definitive way to answer those questions. Through their story, animal champions Chelsie Kelly and Julia Kearse show exactly how.
The Feelings Are There
When Chelsie graduated from The University of South Carolina in ‘17, she began searching for a role where she could put her degree and passion for advertising to effective use.
She quickly realized that working with animals could be the way to do exactly that. Growing up, Chelsie formed a strong connection with animals, and says it was her parents and grandmother who instilled in her a sense of kindness and respect for life.
“My grandmother always showed kindness, wouldn’t kill a spider, because they play a role,” says Chelsie. “It felt so mystical as a child to see someone care so much about nature and trees…because people have such a fast-paced life.”
Chelsie now works for The Humane Society in Columbia, South Carolina, helping with social media, graphic design, and many aspects of assisting a robust office environment, such as counseling for spay/neuter services and vaccinations. The mission of The Humane Society is to end animal cruelty, neglect, and overpopulation.
As an emerging advertising professional, what Chelsie loves most about advertising is the ability to give a voice. Saying something that needs to be said, communicating what an organization or business needs, and at The Humane Society, what the animals need. “I want to communicate, I want to express. It’s all about expressing all the things that are unsaid,” says Chelsie. “It’s like an artist with a purpose.”
The ability to connect with those who cannot speak for themselves, such as animals, and help relay their messages to others, is a powerfully impactful one that creative friends Chelsie and Julia are honing.
“Growing up, it was always showed that it was really important to be kind to creatures,” says Chelsie. “It doesn’t matter if they’re people or not. It doesn’t matter if they can tell you how they feel or not. The feelings are there. They have them, and they should be respected and treated just like we all want to be treated. Everyone needs love.”

Julia works at The Humane Society too, and is also focused on communications. A senior marketing major at USC, Julia says that she learned how to treat animals with compassion from her parents as well, and that making them proud is what motivates her the most.
“I’ve always been drawn to animals,” says Julia. “I just feel a connect.” After previously volunteering at an animal shelter in Spartanburg, SC, she started working at The Humane Society, helping with scheduling appointments, answering phones, and anything else she could do to assist in their lifesaving mission. Says Julia, “Whatever I could do to be around them and help the cause of animals, that’s what I was for.”
Communicating is an integral part of who Julia is, and so she’s highly-keyed into the importance of learning to communicate with animals, and communicating their needs in order to better help them. “It wasn’t until I had a dog of my own…that I fully realized how much personality and emotion animals can show you,” she says of her Lab mix Luna. “Spending quality time with your pets is so important to understanding their feelings and needs,” which she says is part of essentially learning their language. “I’m very thankful for my rescue and how she’s made me grow.”
Grow Together
Animal organizations are always looking for passionate contributors, including volunteers. And as the field continually grows, more roles and responsibilities are always developing and opening that young professionals can aspire to and grow into a career.
Chelsie says that nonprofit organizations “need your help the most. They are probably the best people to work with.” And, she says, “They have the most to say and the best way to do it.”
Julia says that for those who haven’t yet started working with animals and have been thinking about getting involved, “Go to your local shelter and ask them about their volunteer program, and see if you would like it. That would get you hands-on experience,” she says. There are many different aspects to get involved with, from the creative to the medical to customer relations, and you’ll eventually find your niche.
Chelsie says that nonprofits are a great way to start your career after or during college, noting that although she graduated without advertising experience, she’s been able to start getting that experience through her work at The Humane Society. Says Chelsie, “They really need you, and appreciate you, and value you. And you grow together.”
What Will My Impact Be?
I challenge everyone to ask themselves this defining question. Your impact is definitive and purposeful. It is the overarching, greater effect you will have.
Chelsie says she wants her impact in life to be of creating a more understanding, generous community through giving voice to those who need it. And, she says she wants to accomplish that in a way that makes people think in ways that hadn’t been exposed to previously. “I want to make people feel things,” she says. “Open their minds.”
Especially in regards to animals, Chelsie says that through her impact, she wants people to fully understand the enormity of feelings and needs all animals have, and then act upon that. She says that whether she accomplishes that through “one day working on a large-scale campaign for animal rights, or simply through showing them kindness in my everyday life…it’s something I hope to pass along in whatever way I can.”

Although Julia is still deciding what she will do career-wise, she knows that her compassion for animals will help drive her. Through kindness and promoting awareness, she says she wants to champion that “animals deserve to have rights, and more importantly, have those rights respected.”
She says that she wants to impact others by bringing positivity, a happy spirit, and a mindful awareness with her, and influence others to do the same. Julia says that doing so (versus carrying negativity) affects not only who you are, but all of the lives of those around you, your community, and the environment. “It’s about the bigger picture, respecting all life,” says Julia. “This is the impact I hope to have on animals throughout my life,” she says. “The spreading of knowledge, acceptance, and compassion towards them so that they can live longer, happier lives.”
She may not have decided her career, but Julia does know what impact she wants to have. Through that, she’ll determine what other life choices she’ll make.
When you decide what definitive, purposeful impact you want to have, that in turn will help you work backwards to determine everything that comes before it:
What you will be doing.
What your career will be.
What your jobs will be.
Who you will be.
Going forward, you will see that you will always be on your own right path, because your choices don’t simply lead to “what you want to do”. They lead well beyond that, to your chosen impact. It helps you think bigger, and beyond personal achievements and accomplishments.
You find that overarching, greater impact. You see the beauty and power of the time you have on Earth, and in the context of how you can affect everyone — people and animals — that you share this planet and life with. You see yourself become part of something greater.
You realize that at last, you have truly turned the tassel. •

