Olivia Thornton ’13 spent the summer of 2012 experiencing an internship at Sea Life Park in Waimanalo, Hawai’i.

She worked with sea lions, dolphins, and penguins in the theater and facilitated guest interactions and training sessions.

She reports: “Interacting with the guests and observing the animal’s behavior no matter the species is very beneficial in understanding just what this career field is all about. I get to see how trainers deal with certain situations, what they look for in daily check-ups on the animal, what behaviors are important in husbandry, and how they go about training each individual animal.”

Olivia enjoyed the opportunity to gain hands-on experience that she can apply to her dream career of working with animals.

This was Olivia’s third internship for her major. Last summer she interned at an elephant sanctuary in South Africa and during the summer of 2010 she interned at the Cincinnati Zoo.  For more details on Olivia’s adventures, check out her blog.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012