Very few Clemson Tigers can say they have seen a real tiger up close and personal. Peomia Lee can.

Lee, a 2007 Clemson graduate, spent three months in India as a naturalist intern at the Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge. She helped educate visitors to the lodge about India’s wildlife and the importance of conservation, especially tiger conservation, and would go on safaris through the jungle looking for tigers.

The Eutawville native first visited India through a biology class on conservation. Part of the curriculum of the class is a spring break trip to India to observe tigers. After the trip, Lee got involved with Tigers for Tigers, a student organization dedicated to saving the species.

“The only place you can see a wild tiger now is in India,” Lee said. “They are the most beautiful and majestic creatures, and they will be gone in a few years if deforestation and poaching is not stopped.”

That trip inspired Lee to do more, so she applied for the internship after finishing her biology degree at Clemson.

“I don’t want to see our mascot exist only on a poster or in a zoo,” she said. “As Clemson Tigers, we can’t ignore this problem.”

Lee said seeing tigers and educating people about them was just one part of her internship that she enjoyed. In her job at the lodge, she met people from all over the world, and staying with an Indian family for several weeks, she experienced many aspects of Indian culture.

 “This trip exceeded my expectations in every way,” said Lee.

Lee encourages all members of the Clemson family to get involved in tiger conservation efforts.

“Be a tiger. Save a tiger,” she said.