by Jamie Youngblood, RAMP Program Coordinator, Cerebral Palsy of Colorado
Amazing zookeepers Sharon and Erin at the Denver Zoo gave us the trip of a lifetime with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Denver Zoo. Just as the school year comes to an end, we learned about the wide array of summer volunteer and job opportunities available at the zoo.
We started our trip touring some of the animal barns where we learned about many of the animals as well as the jobs of those who care for them. It turns out that when you work at the zoo, having a college degree doesn’t mean you get out of cleaning out the animal cages, but it does mean that you have the opportunity to build a unique relationship with each of the animals you work with. We also learned that a job at the zoo could mean spending late nights on the job or getting calls in the middle of the night with news on any number of possible animal emergencies. Sharon and Erin shared their educational backgrounds and the importance of gaining as much experience working with animals or working in a zoo setting at any level (even if that means volunteering) to give yourself the biggest advantage, if your dream is to work in a zoo.
While a lot of people get to see the animals at the zoo, not many can say they have hand fed the giraffes, zebras, ostriches and African birds and gazelles. Very few can say they’ve gotten up close and personal with Omelet the ostrich to feed her carrots and lettuce and been able to pet her, but the Denver RAMP youth can say they have!
At the end of the day, RAMP students tallied up the number of job opportunities that they found within the zoo. One student won the grand prize of a $25 movie pass after finding 20 different jobs that required vastly different skill sets, experiences and educational backgrounds. Congratulations Victor!
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