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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Want to know how the animals at the San Diego Zoo maintain their fit physiques? Well, it’s thanks in part to Ms. Debbie Lowe, the Nutritional Services Supervisor, and Ms. Katie Kerr, an Associate Nutritionist. The two of them gave interns a tour of the Forage Warehouse, the Zoo’s house of head chefs. Read on, and you’ll get a “taste” of what it’s like to work in their department.
Believe it or not, when Ms. Lowe was still in high school, she started her career at the Zoo through an internship program similar to InternQuest. While attending college at UCSD, she majored in general biology, which gave her a look into the broad scope of animal studies. When Ms. Lowe was finished with college, she got a part-time job at the Zoo as a grounds person. Not long after, she was offered a full time job at the Forage Warehouse. She gladly took it, and has been working there for 19 years and counting.
Ms. Kerr is a more recent addition to the Zoo, having worked here as an Associate Nutritionist for a year-and-a-half. She earned her bachelor’s in biology and zoology from Colorado State University prior to doing a year-long internship with the Saint Louis Zoo. During that time, she learned she was interested in pursuing animal nutrition and started asking people in the field what steps she would need to take to get a job like theirs. After receiving some advice from a conference her mother encouraged her to attend, she went back to college at the University of Illinois, where she received a PhD in animal nutrition. From there, she began working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom before coming here to the Zoo. She hopes she is here to stay because of the friendly atmosphere.
Ms. Lowe’s job primarily consists of preparing food for the animals, while Ms. Kerr’s mostly involves long-term weight management and ensuring the animals have a proper diet. Because Ms. Lowe needs to get to the Zoo early to prepare food, her work days can start as early as 4:30 in the morning. The preparation process involves cutting meat, fruit, and veggies for the different types of animals, defrosting food from the freezers, separating the food by area via buckets, and finally driving out to deliver the food to the different zookeepers.Ms. Kerr tweaks and modifies the amount of food prepared based on the animals’ specific needs, weight, and health condition. Teamwork power! Sometimes, Ms. Lowe gets creative with the food she delivers to the keepers, such as encasing treats in a block of ice during the hot summer or making birthday cakes comprised of food that the animals eat naturally. This offers a whole range of different enrichment opportunities for the animals.
If you want to be in Ms. Lowe’s and Ms. Kerr’s line of work, don’t be afraid of biting off more than you can chew. Ms. Lowe says it’s important that you pursue your education and do your best at everything you try because her position is a competitive one, and someone important to your career path might be observing your work ethic. Ms. Kerr considers her field hard to get into as well, so you’ll need to put in a lot of hard work and take every opportunity you get. It’s important to put yourself out there and be open to the possibilities.
It’s no question that what Ms. Lowe and Ms. Kerr do in their line of work is essential to the Zoo. Food is an important part of all of our lives. Whether it’s a munching monkey or a crunching crocodile, the two of them had some part in making their menus.
David, Careers Team
Week Six, Fall Session 2016
Want to know how the animals at the San Diego Zoo maintain their fit physiques? Well, it’s thanks in part to Ms. Debbie Lowe, the Nutritional Services Supervisor, and Ms. Katie Kerr, an Associate Nutritionist. The two of them gave interns a tour of the Forage Warehouse, the Zoo’s house of head chefs. Read on, and you’ll get a “taste” of what it’s like to work in their department.
Believe it or not, when Ms. Lowe was still in high school, she started her career at the Zoo through an internship program similar to InternQuest. While attending college at UCSD, she majored in general biology, which gave her a look into the broad scope of animal studies. When Ms. Lowe was finished with college, she got a part-time job at the Zoo as a grounds person. Not long after, she was offered a full time job at the Forage Warehouse. She gladly took it, and has been working there for 19 years and counting.
Ms. Kerr is a more recent addition to the Zoo, having worked here as an Associate Nutritionist for a year-and-a-half. She earned her bachelor’s in biology and zoology from Colorado State University prior to doing a year-long internship with the Saint Louis Zoo. During that time, she learned she was interested in pursuing animal nutrition and started asking people in the field what steps she would need to take to get a job like theirs. After receiving some advice from a conference her mother encouraged her to attend, she went back to college at the University of Illinois, where she received a PhD in animal nutrition. From there, she began working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom before coming here to the Zoo. She hopes she is here to stay because of the friendly atmosphere.
Ms. Lowe’s job primarily consists of preparing food for the animals, while Ms. Kerr’s mostly involves long-term weight management and ensuring the animals have a proper diet. Because Ms. Lowe needs to get to the Zoo early to prepare food, her work days can start as early as 4:30 in the morning. The preparation process involves cutting meat, fruit, and veggies for the different types of animals, defrosting food from the freezers, separating the food by area via buckets, and finally driving out to deliver the food to the different zookeepers.Ms. Kerr tweaks and modifies the amount of food prepared based on the animals’ specific needs, weight, and health condition. Teamwork power! Sometimes, Ms. Lowe gets creative with the food she delivers to the keepers, such as encasing treats in a block of ice during the hot summer or making birthday cakes comprised of food that the animals eat naturally. This offers a whole range of different enrichment opportunities for the animals.
If you want to be in Ms. Lowe’s and Ms. Kerr’s line of work, don’t be afraid of biting off more than you can chew. Ms. Lowe says it’s important that you pursue your education and do your best at everything you try because her position is a competitive one, and someone important to your career path might be observing your work ethic. Ms. Kerr considers her field hard to get into as well, so you’ll need to put in a lot of hard work and take every opportunity you get. It’s important to put yourself out there and be open to the possibilities.
It’s no question that what Ms. Lowe and Ms. Kerr do in their line of work is essential to the Zoo. Food is an important part of all of our lives. Whether it’s a munching monkey or a crunching crocodile, the two of them had some part in making their menus.
David, Careers Team
Week Six, Fall Session 2016
