Environmentality & Sustainability - Week 7

To say that today's class was the most interesting two hours I ever spent in a classroom would be a major understatement.

The topic: Animal Care
The speaker: Joseph, the Zoological Manager at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
The result: a blissful Megan

I absolutely loved everything about today's class. Joseph gave the class a brief overview of animal care and enrichment at Disney, told us about a typical day in the life of an animal keeper, gave us inside information on how the animals are taken care of and trained at the Lodge, told us about what makes the Lodge unique from Animal Kingdom, and even gave advice for people who were hoping to break into the zoological field!

I learned a ton of useful information today. For example, I learned that training is not only used for medical care, but animals can also be trained so that they can get exercise, keep their mind stimulated, or to get rid of a behavioral problem. We also learned about some problematic animals at the Lodge, such as one gazelle who likes human contact a little too much, which often puts her in dangerous situations! Joseph told us about how he got into the company, how he worked for a variety of different zoos and wildlife centers, and the tasks he does on a daily basis. He talked about how keepers do a lot of cleaning, but how they also have other really cool responsibilities at the Lodge, such as giving private safaris of the four different savannas, and having dinner at one of the signature dining restaurants with Guests. They also get to observe animal behavior, design enrichment activities for the animals, have guest interaction to share conservation messages, and work on training the animals.

The one important thing I took away from today's class is that I finally realized that animal keeping and training is really what I want to do with my life. It's always been something that I thought I wanted, but after hearing Joseph describe his day in the life and learning more about the kinds of things keepers do, it made me realize that I definitely want a career doing this in the future.

However, that's not even the coolest thing that happened during class today! I went up to introduce myself to Joseph and ask him a couple of questions after class, and I told him that I was applying for an internship with a zoo for next semester, and he asked me to sit down with him so that he could prep me for the interview! How amazing is that?!?! I got to sit down with a zoological manager at Disney World and he shared with me the types of common questions you get asked, the important things to mention, and told me how to make my personality stand out through the interview. I was amazed that he took the time to sit down with me and actually help me develop my future! It just goes to show how small and amazing a company Disney is, and how Cast Members truly do look out for one another.

I'm so thankful for all of the opportunities I've had through taking this environmentality & sustainability course at Disney. I can't even imagine doing half of the activities I've done or meeting half the people if I hadn't been enrolled in this course. For those of you considering taking classes at Disney, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!