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AWbbeyber
Inclusion Aide Intern with Zoo Camp
Abby, who is 20 and grew up in Chicago, is a student in
the Integrative Biology Honors program at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is interested in pursuing
a research-oriented career or a career in medicine.
What did you do?
I worked with the inclusion staff to make sure campers
with disabilities were given the support and resources they
needed to have an inclusive and fun week at the zoo.
How did you find out about the internship?
I found out about the internship from the Chicago Zoological
Society website. My youngest sister, Mackenna, has been part of
the Zoo Camp Inclusion Program for several years. I saw how
much impact the camp had on building her social skills and
science knowledge. I knew I wanted to be part of something
that could impact kids for the rest of their lives.
Describe a typical day.
No two days were ever the same. Every week, we got a new
round of campers in, each with his or her own abilities and needs. favorite animal in the world—every single day. Adele is one of
Before the week started, my mentor and I went over our inclusion
plans for campers who would need extra support.
Inclusion plans are individualized sets of information, tips,
and accommodations. Plans can be as simple as stating that a
child might require noise-canceling headphones. Or they can be
complicated—such as a plan that gives detailed background on
a child’s ability level.
Every morning, my co-counselors and I made a schedule for
the day, taking into account our campers’ needs as a group and as
individuals. Some days we spent the whole morning at the Hamill
Family Play Zoo. Other days we took our campers behind the
scenes at the vet hospital or the commissary.
Some weeks I was a camper's one-on-one. Other weeks
I was needed for tasks, such as giving schedule reminders or
helping someone open a snack. Since no two days are the same,
Zoo Campers will often come back for years.
Describe your best day.
One of my favorite Zoo Camp memories was when I taught a
few of my kindergarten-aged campers how to braid pipe cleaners
into bracelets. They noticed that one of the campers in the group
could not braid the pipe cleaners herself because she has cerebral
palsy. They had the idea to make one bracelet for themselves and
a matching one to put on the girl’s wheelchair! By the end of the
day, she was covered from head to toe in friendship bracelets. It
was really exciting to see these young kids come up with such an
inclusive idea all on their own.
What did you like most about interning at the zoo?
Interning at the zoo allowed me to make the zoo my second
home for the summer! Not only did I get to hang out with my
awesome campers, I got to do cool stuff like visit Adele—my
the oldest pygmy hippos in the world and has been my favorite
zoo animal for a long time. During my breaks, I usually hung
out with Adele for a little bit.
What did you gain from the internship?
I learned how to create an inclusive environment for kids
with disabilities—to structure activities and lessons in ways that
promote togetherness and make situations that are normally
stressful or difficult for them a lot more educational and fun.
My mentor allowed me and the other inclusion aide intern,
Clarissa Cortez, to present with him at a teacher development
conference about how to create an inclusive classroom environ-
ment. Working on that project helped me understand the ways
that inclusivity can be ingrained in children’s minds from a
young age.
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