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Alicia Grano Alicia Grano, keeper in the mammals department,
bottle feeds a newborn dik dik calf.
Hoofed Animals Keeper
Mammals Department GREVY'S ZEBRA

How did you get started in this field?

I grew up on a farm in Michigan—I was riding horses before
I could walk. So I’ve really always loved and been around animals.
It just seemed normal to me! When I was in school, for a while, I
thought I wanted to pursue theater, but as I got more into it I realized
that I really missed being around animals. I lived in Nashville at the
time, and so I began volunteering at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere,
and after 10 months, an animal care position opened up. I worked
there for a year and a half before moving to the Chicago area to
be closer to family. I pretty much had to start over here—I began
volunteering at Shedd Aquarium, and then held several part-time
positions at both Shedd and Brookfield Zoo before accepting a
full-time position at Shedd and then moving to my current
position here.

24 GATEWAYS | A DAY IN THE LIFE