Nicholas Delinte has been here for four days conducting a “job shadow,” experiencing what it means to be a zookeeper. He is a ninth grader at the Awty International School and, of all the places he could choose to go in Houston for his career exploration, he chose the Houston Zoo. He is the only one in his class of more than 30 students that chose the Zoo – others are at restaurants or doctors’ offices, among other things. Why the Zoo?
“I’m not a big eater so I don’t like restaurants, and blood is not my thing, and I like birds, so I chose to come here.”
Nicholas on the job in the Birds of the World Bird Run.
In fact when his parents called to ask about the possibility of a job shadow at the zoo they specifically asked for a place for him with the bird keeper staff. These four days have included such real-life experiences as helping to clean exhibits and providing seeds and fruits to various birds. One favorite task was tossing fish to the pelicans.
Now that he’s seen a bit of what it means to work as a zookeeper, does Nicholas want to pursue the career?
“I don’t know if I want to be a zookeeper, but I think it’s interesting to see how the job works.”
More information about the Awty school may be found at http://www.awty.org/
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