Page 33 - GW_Winter2019-2020

Left: Jacob gives a Zoo Chat.

JDacaolben Jacob, 19, from Manhattan, Illinois, is majoring in Animal Sciences
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He plans to
Senior Roving Naturalist attend veterinary school to study conservation medicine and wants
Intern in the Conservation to work as a veterinarian.
Education and Training
Department What did you do?
Interpreting is just a fancy way of saying that you explain something.
As a Roving Naturalist, I relayed information about a subject to guests
who didn’t have any prior knowledge of it. I was stationed at various
exhibits and circulated throughout the zoo. I gave chats—five- to ten-
minute presentations or question-and-answer sessions—about a specific
species of animal. The goal of a chat is to spread the conservation
message of Brookfield Zoo and to inform guests about the animals in
ways they can relate to. Helping people understand the animals that
need our help is one of the most important aspects of the internship.

How did you find out about the internship?
I found out about the internship through the King Conservation
Scholars Program. This is a program for high school students that allows
them to volunteer at the zoo and interact with guests and with animal
specimens such as penguin feathers and polar bear skulls. The Roving
Naturalist internship takes the Scholars Program to the next level and gives
students more public-speaking experience as well as animal-handling skills.
I wanted to further my relationship with Brookfield Zoo and develop my
communication skills.

Left: Pictured from left to right—Sam Jackson (Zoo Camp’s
lead counselor); Clarissa Cortez (inclusion aide intern);
Jonathan Meisenbach (supervisor of camps, overnights,
and NatureStart™ programs); Abby Weber (inclusion
aide intern); and Taylor Richier (mentor and Zoo Camp’s
inclusion specialist)

BROOKFIELD ZOO | WINTER 2019-2020 25