This summer, Reiss Gidner, 18, of Arlington, spent three weeks in Thailand helping animals, discovering Thai culture, and learning hands-on what it’s like to be a veterinarian. Traveling with study-abroad organization Loop Abroad, Reiss was selected as part of a small team that volunteered giving care at a dog shelter and spent a week working directly with rescued elephants at an elephant sanctuary. Reiss is a sophomore at Virginia Polytechnic University, majoring in Animal Science and also Theatre and Cinema Studies.