Local Zoo's "Volunteen" Program by Juliana

Local Zoo's "Volunteen" Program by Juliana - April 2022 Scholarship Essay

Beginning at an early age, I developed a strong interest in animals and the environment. Through educating myself through books and television shows, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in the field, specifically veterinary medicine.
To continue this path, I signed up for my local zoo’s summer camp program around the age of 10. Within this, I was educated on various species and environmental topics. I even gained the opportunity to assist zookeepers in preparing exhibits and diets for animals such as wolves, bison, giraffe, and more before the zoo’s opening. After spending a few summers participating in the camp, around age 14 I decided I would move forward and become a “Volunteen” for the program.
The position of a Volunteen entailed working alongside camp counselors to aid in the education and management of younger children enrolled in camps. Children needed to be guided through the zoo in an organized manner, especially during the busiest times of the season and taught not only throughout the interior of the zoo but additionally in functioning classrooms. I was mostly in charge of preparing snacks, transporting children from one area to another, preparing the classroom for lessons and crafts, and even gathering learning materials such as snakeskin or turtle shells. Furthermore, these lessons were normally followed with crafts or games to help solidify understanding of topics such as food chains or pollution.
Becoming a volunteer taught me a number of lessons myself - most notably including how to handle and address younger children. I learned very quickly in my weekly groups that some individuals needed more quiet environments to focus, more individual emotional support, more hands-on experiences, lessons taught from different perspectives, and much more in order to ensure an enjoyable time. My groups were composed of around 10-15 children so it was vital that each one was tended to accordingly.
Following this, I became aware of just how important the topics they were learning about were. Through spending multiple weeks in the zoo it became apparent how essential it was to pass down the knowledge of environmental concerns to this younger generation for it is unknown what the condition of the planet will be when they grow to be adults. As for myself, I now know an array of ways to support ecosystem health and what actions may pose threats, and today, I am still interested in the career of veterinary medicine as over the years I realized through this camp how important this career is for animal well-being. I am hopeful that the children will keep this information in their minds and consider things such as their ecological footprint when making future decisions.