Here is the article Victoria wrote about our Zoo Trip during the Fall 2010 Semester.
Victoria A. Richardson
WORD COUNT:
UD Career Entrepreneurs Organization Travels to Philadelphia Zoo
The University Of Delaware Office Of Career Services is familiar to us all. We acknowledge it as the liaison between our last resort of comfort and the cutthroat real world that lies outside of our blue and gold boundaries. From internships to ‘Walk-In Wednesdays’ to mock interviews to the annual Job Jamboree, Career Services is a pivotal asset right here on campus.
What many students remain ignorant to is the registered student organization called “Career Entrepreneurs Organization”, otherwise known as CEO. CEO is for students interested in career-related activities, such as planning fund-raising and networking events, as well as to aid in personal and professional development. The purpose of the organization is to help students and their peers take control of their own career.
On Election Day, CEO organized a free trip to the Philadelphia Zoo to explore various career options in a zoo setting. Sounds odd? Arriving early morning to the employee entrance of the zoo, CEO members were lead to a classroom with a panel of employees (UD alums) eagerly waiting. Representatives from Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, Animal Care and more were present. Each representative told their story of what they studied in college and how they ended up working at a zoo. One would assume everyone who worked at a zoo obtained a degree in Animal Science or Pre-Veterinary Medicine. One could also think that everyone handled the animals on a regular basis. Not hardly.
Academic majors ranged including English, Animal Science, and Psychology to name a few. Ironically, only one out of twelve people in the room studied animals in college. That same person was the only one who handled the animals daily. The panel later explained their position and each person stressed a word of advice: internships. One of the most important things, each student should strive for is interning any- and everywhere. The more internships – and the more diverse they are – grants students experience while also allowing their application to rise above all others. After the panel, students were lead on a behind the scenes tour seeing exotic birds, armadillos, show animals, and, of course, the petting zoo.
The Philadelphia Zoo is the first of many trips organized by the Career Entrepreneurs Organization for this academic year. To learn more about CEO, contact Gabrielle Miller, president at gdmiller@udel.edu.
