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| ADVENTURE CAMP ALUMNI |
| Press Release |
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Camp can inspire, motivate and create memories that last a lifetime. Every camper has a story about a counselor, an experience or a moment when they realized what they wanted to be in life, discovered something about themselves or learned a fact they never knew before.
At SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Camps, participants often report that up-close animal encounters are what they enjoy the most. Park guests see animals in the shows, but campers get to care for, study and interact with these fascinating creatures.
For some participants, the camp experience goes beyond just a great memory, becoming the inspiration for lifelong appreciation for wildlife, or maybe even a career in animal science. In fact, more than 150 former campers are now employed in the zoological departments at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. |
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HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE |
What is it about SeaWorld and Busch Gardens camps that inspire young people, especially girls, to become interested in science?
“Our parks become interactive classrooms,” says Judy Jenkins, SeaWorld Orlando’s Director of Education and Conservation. “We just don’t tell campers how much Shamu eats or how cold it is inside Penguin Encounter. Campers actually have the chance to help our animal trainers prepare fish buckets and step inside Penguin Encounter to feel just how chilly – and smelly – the exhibit really is.”
SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Camps present kids of all ages with amazing, hands-on experience like nowhere else in the world – but, campers find out very quickly it’s not all glamorous.
“Girls love dolphins, we know that,” says SeaWorld San Antonio Director of Education and Conservation Ann Quinn. “They come to our camps and there is this elation of being around animals they love. But they also find out what hard work it is, what kind of dedication it takes – what this career would really be like.”
Although camouflaged as “fun,” campers are learning. Because wildlife conservation and environmental awareness are key themes woven throughout all SeaWorld and Busch Gardens camp programs, campers leave with not only a heightened awareness of the natural world around them, but also concrete ways they can make a difference. The experience goes beyond the pages of a text book and four walls of a classroom. Campers work side-by-side with animal care specialists, trainers and even veterinary staff. |
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CAMP ALUMNAE |
For Gina DeJesus, a former SeaWorld San Antonio camper, early mornings and cleaning up walrus and sea lion “snot” wasn’t enough to keep her away from pursuing a career with animals. In fact, it encouraged her.
“Before camp, I never had the chance to interact one-on-one with animals. Once I did, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this was the career for me,” says Gina. “I was able to see everything and what it took to be an animal trainer – from waking up at 4 a.m. with the team to the awesome experience of a rockhopper penguin actually sitting on my lap after shoveling snow inside the Penguin Encounter. Where else can a teenage girl experience that?”
After her summer at camp, nothing could stop Gina from reaching her dream of becoming a dolphin trainer. She attended Eckerd College and majored in marine science. Today Gina is living her dream as a dolphin trainer at Discovery Cove in Orlando, Fla. where she works with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. “The best part of my job is that I now get to help other people achieve their dreams,” says Gina.
When Katie Timko was attending school at Michigan State University, working daily with a nearly 2-ton animal wasn’t quite part of her plan. In fact, it wasn’t until she became a camp counselor at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 2003 that she fell in love with rhinoceros.
“My plan was to become a veterinarian. It wasn’t until I became a camp counselor at Busch Gardens that I completely changed my mind,” says Katie. “My first summer, I was assigned to the rhinoceros team and was very apprehensive, but I was able to see the personalities of each animal and experience firsthand just how much fun it could be to get to know them.”
After graduating school with a degree in zoology, animal behavior and evolutionary biology in 2005, Katie packed her bags and headed south to Florida to work with rhinoceros at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay as an animal care specialist. “I get to come to work and have fun, while at the same time doing something to help an animal that is critically endangered and needs our help to save them.”
Katie took her passion even further by traveling to Africa in the summer of 2008 to participate in an Earthwatch Institute expedition. “I’ve worked with rhinos at Busch Gardens Tampa for years, but this was a chance to work for them. The time, sweat and effort I put into the Earthwatch expedition will help develop management policies and beyond.” Katie spent two weeks working with a team dedicated to protecting black rhinoceros that live on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
Nicole Olson, a wolf trainer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, discovered in high school that camp could be her ticket to a career in animal training.
“I did a lot of research, looking for ways to get involved with marine animals.” Nicole attended three years of camp at SeaWorld San Antonio during high school and between semesters at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She was hired as an apprentice at the park’s Shamu Stadium and eventually landed a job at Discovery Cove working with dolphins. Nicole wanted hands-on experience with as many species as possible, so after two years she transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio where she worked with beluga whales, sea lions, otters and walruses.
Today, Nicole is on dry land. In her new role as an animal care specialist for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, she trains and cares for gray wolves and is launching Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s first behind-the-scenes tour programs. “For me, the tables have turned. Before, I was the one eager to attend camps and tours where I could learn about animals, and now I’m the one helping to create these experiences. It’s very rewarding to see girls excited about learning more. It reminds me of how I was at their age.”
From the time Jen McGee was six years old, she knew she wanted to make a difference in the world by caring for and protecting animals. As a teenager, she got up-close and hands-on with dolphins, penguins, giraffes and other exotic animals at camps at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.
“Growing up, I had some great opportunities to work with and help care for animals in aquariums and zoos,” said Jen. “I absolutely see the value of these types of experiences when it comes to education and awareness. Whenever I’m asked by anyone interested in helping animals and starting an animal career, I always recommend the camps at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. They’re such great ways to get real, hands-on experience. And I still feel connected with many of the animals and people I had the chance to work with.”
As a young adult, Jen helped study and protect manatees in Belize, survey humpback whales in Australia, research Amazon river dolphins in Brazil and monitor sea turtle nests in Florida. And today, Jen is pursuing a Ph.D. in aquatic animal health at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine; well on her way to turning her passion for animals into a professional career and life mission. |
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| ROLE MODELS |
Many of the top educators, trainers, veterinarians and animal care specialists at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens are women.
There is no question that Senior Veterinarian Lara Croft has her hands full with the animals that call SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove home in Orlando, Fla. She cares for animals ranging in size from 30-gram mouse birds to 8,000-pound killer whales. “To me, being a veterinarian is like putting together a puzzle. Before I can know exactly how the pieces fit together, I need a greater understanding of the bigger picture,” says Dr. Croft. “Animals can’t tell us what’s wrong with them, so it’s up to us to learn what normal behavior is.”
Growing up, Dr. Croft explored her passion for animals by volunteering at local aquariums and attending camp. “I feel that going to camp and volunteering to work with animals are the first steps to beginning a fulfilling career working with animals.” The most gratifying parts of the job for Dr. Croft are rehabilitating injured wildlife and educating young girls who may be interested in becoming veterinarians.
Dr. Judy St. Ledger is the Director of Pathology for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. Based at SeaWorld San Diego, she is responsible for diagnostic evaluations and investigating illness for animals at all of the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks. She graduated with a veterinary degree from Cornell University and pursued a residency in veterinary pathology, where she worked closely with exotic animals and side-by-side with SeaWorld vets.
Dr. St. Ledger equates her role to that of a detective – searching out the cause of disease or illness in animals all over the world. “On any given day, I may be studying what is causing birds to be sick or the adverse affects on anteaters living in Vietnam. What gets me up each morning is knowing I make a positive impact on the animal world alongside a team that helps people better understand and relate to animals in their wild environments.”
Dr. St. Leger frequently speaks to groups of young girls to encourage them to pursue degrees and careers in the sciences. “Commit to excellence in the fields of math and science, while also jumping at the chance to volunteer at local veterinarian clinics and aquariums and explore camp opportunities.” |
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Camp programs are offered to youth of all ages at SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando, Fla. and Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Fla. for more information on camp programs, visit www.SWBG-AdventureCamps.com.
Orlando-based Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC) is the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. BEC operates 10 Worlds of Discovery parks across the U.S.: SeaWorld parks in Orlando, Fla., San Diego, Calif. and San Antonio, Texas; Busch Gardens parks in Tampa, Fla. and Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove in Orlando; Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa.; Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park, in Orlando; Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country USA in Williamsburg.
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