Rachel Ryan plans to be in an in-demand, attractive field. Since she wants to use her zoology degree to work in an actual zoo, she has known from the outset that she would need to go above and beyond to show future employers that she is the one to hire.
One of her first steps was a stop at Ohio State Lima’s Office of Career Development and Engagement office to talk about internships and other experiential learning opportunities.
“The zoo field is very competitive. I know that the majority of the time, it's very, very unlikely you're going to get hired with just a degree. Most people have to have an internship or multiple before they get hired,” Ryan said. “I need experience now so I don't have to wait multiple years after graduating to try to get more experience.”
While Ohio State Lima sits squarely between a variety of zoos, they are just far enough away that Ryan couldn’t commit to an internship while maintaining her school and home schedule during the academic year. Instead, she found a volunteer program at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium that suited her needs beautifully.
She spent a lot of time talking to program administrators, other volunteers and keepers throughout the zoo so they knew of her strong interest in reptiles. When the zoo needed extra help in the reptile house during a renovation, Ryan got the call and what started out as a volunteer opportunity morphed into the equivalent of an internship without as rigid of a schedule.
In her time at the reptile house, she has learned to help care for the animals, discovered venomous snake protocol, helped wrangle lizards and tag bearded dragons, and watched a 2-foot rattlesnake with a digestive upset get a feeding tube.
“The keepers are amazing. I’ve had these realization moments where I think I definitely chose the right field. These are the kind of people that I hang around now. These are the kind of people I want to be around,” she said. “I've learned so much already, and there's still so much more to learn.”
Ryan’s original plan for her zoology future was to be a zookeeper. Her time volunteering at the zoo has broadened her interests. When she is done working in the reptile area, she would like to try out the ambassador animal program, where she would work with both the animals and zoo guests.
This very real interest in working on the education and outreach side of the zoo has come as a surprise to Ryan. Growing up, she was reasonably certain she didn’t want to follow her art teacher mom into classroom education. The zoo setting with its enthusiastic visitors and living exhibits is a much different story.
“Being able to work with the education department that they have on staff is something that really interests me, and I found I'm good at educating because of doing the volunteering program. That's something I thrive at doing is talking with people and educating about the animals.”
Her time at the zoo has also enriched her classroom experience and vice versa. When she was in animal behavior class, she talked a lot to the keepers about the topics and they let her set up her research for the class in one of their spaces.
“They go back and forth with each other a lot, so a lot of the knowledge I have from my volunteering with certain animals has helped me to do projects in class. They go hand in hand,” she said. “A lot of it interconnects really well. I can talk about school stuff with the keepers because they went through the same kind of classes and the same kind of experiences.”