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!
Hello! My name is Alana, and I’m a high school senior.
Like many of you reading and following these blogs, I am in love with the natural world and all of its inhabitants. When I was young, I spent most of my days with my eyes glued to a window carefully observing the creatures living in my backyard. I would occasionally peel my eyes away to flip through an identification guide to know what bird I was watching or what lizard was hastily crawling up the garden fence.
Watching animals was a great joy but caring for my own pets was, and still is, my favorite pastime. At the moment, my mini menagerie consists of Loki the green cheek conure, Fishsticks the leopard gecko, Winston the bearded dragon, Green Bean the rough green snake, Marge and Maggie the mother-daughter guinea pig duo, and a fire-belly toad who is still waiting for his perfect name.
When it comes to nature, I find myself drawn to the critters that many people overlook or find outright scary and gross. Reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids, and birds have become what I am most passionate about. Whether they’re out in the wild or living in someone’s home, I want to learn more about them as well as find ways to conserve their habitats, the creatures themselves, and how to give them the best husbandry possible.
I’ve had the opportunity to learn more in depth about conservation of species and habitats through a lovely one-week environmental science course at University of San Diego, as well as through multiple trips to the California Wolf Center in Julian. These opportunities have helped me to both admire and wish to work with the beautiful, fragile, and fascinating balance between humanity and nature.
Dear reader, animals are not the only thing I’m passionate about! Alongside my childhood observation of the natural world, I would draw and take inspiration from the animals I watched. Nothing much has changed, as mother nature is still my main muse when it comes to drawing. I also am a fan of horror, the macabre, and all the oddities the world has to offer. Those things are also a major inspiration for me, and I often combine the two to create all kinds or outlandish creatures.
Through this internship, I hope to expand my knowledge of animals, their habitats, and conservation efforts being put forth to help save them. I also hope to share the all the work the San Diego Zoo puts into its husbandry and conservation efforts for animals all throughout the globe through these blogs!
Alana
Winter Session, 2019
