LZ Student volunteers at Brookfield
Photo by photo used with permission of Sarah Neenan
Neenan, far right, is showing a boy a bear claw and telling the family about polar bears while volunteer Kimberly, also in green to the left, holds a skull of a small bear.
Volunteering is something every high school student strives for, being reminded that colleges like when you have hours on your resume.
Sarah Neenan, senior, is a volunteer at Brookfield Zoo as a greeter and animal researcher.
“I have been [a volunteer] since the summer going into my sophomore year, in a program called King Conservation Scholars,” Neenan said. “You stand in front of animal exhibits and you hold an animal skull or a fur, and you explain facts about it. Kids can interact with it so they can learn. We want to connect the guest with animals through conservation.”
Volunteering at the zoo is helping Neenan with her future endeavors, as she will be majoring in Zoology or Animal Behavior, but has not chosen a college yet, and she would like to work at an Orangutan Rehabilitation Center to help regrow the population of orangutans.
“Currently I am doing research for one of the head keepers of the Tropic World, which is the primate ape house at the Zoo. My job is to do orangutan observations, so for an hour at a time I will go and watch the Orangutans with my chart. For every minute, you mark down what the orangutans are doing, where they are, and who they are near, or if they are touching another orangutan,” Neenan said. “There is a mom, named Sophia, and the dad, named Ben, and sister, named Kekasih, and the foster baby is named Kacil. This project is to see how Kacil is doing in the new home.”
According to Neenan, she volunteers a lot during the summer and has to get 120 hours over all. There are also classes and behind-the-scenes opportunities that volunteers can go on and learn more about career choices and college opportunities.
“It’s a fun experience and I would recommend it to other students,” Neenan said. “You meet a ton of other students and the program has grown so much. Now I know a ton of random animal facts that are pretty interesting. Also, before I went into this, I was scared to talk to people that I did not know, but now I am more comfortable communicating to the guests at the Zoo. I do not have any fear of it anymore.”
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