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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 adventure here on the Zoo’s website!
Today we met Victoria Dunch, a research associate at the Institution for Conservation Research in Escondido, California. Located right next to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park, the Institute is part of San Diego Zoo Global, one of the largest multi-disciplinary conservation research effort in the world. The eight branches of the Institute include Conservation Genetics, Reproductive Sciences, Population Stability, Disease Investigations, Plant Conservation, Recovery Ecology, Community Engagement, and Global Partnerships. Ms. Dunch’s works with the Community Engagement division. The focus of this division is to inform and educate young people, creating passion around conservation and sustainability.
Ms. Dunch’s job as a research associate includes maintaining the lab, keeping the lesson modules up-to-date, working with scientists to interpret and relay their work to students and teachers, providing tours of the Institute, teaching all of the school programs and outreach programs offered by the Community Engagement division, and managing the conservation education kits used for teacher outreach programs around the globe.
While we were at the Institute, our intern group had the opportunity to perform a competitive ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). This test was conducted in order to track hormonal cycles of each female elephant at the Safari Park. Ms. Dunch taught us all about the reproductive biology and conservation of elephants while we did this hands-on activity. This is just one example of the many programs the Community Engagement division host in order to engage students in the San Diego area. Every year, she works with hundreds of students from around San Diego County, from middle school through high school. During the summer, she connects with teachers on a national and even international level, through the Institute’s Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science.
Ms. Dunch received an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College, as well as a minor in Marine Science. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree right here at the Institute, through the Advanced Inquiry Program and Miami University. Before coming to the Institute, she worked as a fundraiser for the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy, interned at the Birth Aquarium, and volunteered with a whale watching company. She also has experience as an intern at two NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) facilities in South Carolina and Mississippi, and taught at a marine science camp in San Pedro, Belize.
The hands-on, “learn by doing” lab we did with Victoria made the educational experience memorable and engaging. I will never forget that a baby elephant weighs 250 pounds, mothers are pregnant for about two years, and we can help the elephant conservation effort by using the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo sustainable palm oil app!
Sage, Careers Team
Week Two, Fall Session 2017
Today we met Victoria Dunch, a research associate at the Institution for Conservation Research in Escondido, California. Located right next to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park, the Institute is part of San Diego Zoo Global, one of the largest multi-disciplinary conservation research effort in the world. The eight branches of the Institute include Conservation Genetics, Reproductive Sciences, Population Stability, Disease Investigations, Plant Conservation, Recovery Ecology, Community Engagement, and Global Partnerships. Ms. Dunch’s works with the Community Engagement division. The focus of this division is to inform and educate young people, creating passion around conservation and sustainability.
Ms. Dunch’s job as a research associate includes maintaining the lab, keeping the lesson modules up-to-date, working with scientists to interpret and relay their work to students and teachers, providing tours of the Institute, teaching all of the school programs and outreach programs offered by the Community Engagement division, and managing the conservation education kits used for teacher outreach programs around the globe.
While we were at the Institute, our intern group had the opportunity to perform a competitive ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). This test was conducted in order to track hormonal cycles of each female elephant at the Safari Park. Ms. Dunch taught us all about the reproductive biology and conservation of elephants while we did this hands-on activity. This is just one example of the many programs the Community Engagement division host in order to engage students in the San Diego area. Every year, she works with hundreds of students from around San Diego County, from middle school through high school. During the summer, she connects with teachers on a national and even international level, through the Institute’s Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science.
Ms. Dunch received an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College, as well as a minor in Marine Science. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree right here at the Institute, through the Advanced Inquiry Program and Miami University. Before coming to the Institute, she worked as a fundraiser for the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy, interned at the Birth Aquarium, and volunteered with a whale watching company. She also has experience as an intern at two NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) facilities in South Carolina and Mississippi, and taught at a marine science camp in San Pedro, Belize.
The hands-on, “learn by doing” lab we did with Victoria made the educational experience memorable and engaging. I will never forget that a baby elephant weighs 250 pounds, mothers are pregnant for about two years, and we can help the elephant conservation effort by using the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo sustainable palm oil app!
Sage, Careers Team
Week Two, Fall Session 2017
