By Sean Colvin Staff writer
Many Susquehanna students get internships, but not everyone gets to spend their summer interning at a zoo. Senior Noah Diaz-Portalatin spent his break working as an animal care intern at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, where he tended to lions, tigers, giraffes and more.
Diaz-Portalatin, a biology major who is currently applying to veterinary school, said he thought that a real-life experience at a zoo was just what he needed to move closer to his dream, so he took to Google.
“I’ve always wanted to work in a zoo… but I’ve never had a real zoo experience up until this past summer,” Diaz- Portalatin said.
He narrowed his search by applying only to zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which ensures the ethical treatment of zoo animals. The AZA also provides lists of jobs and internships for aspiring animal caretakers, of which Diaz-Portalatin applied to four.
After receiving offers from three different zoos, including one paid position, Diaz-Portalatin said that he chose Franklin Park Zoo over the others because it offered him the most experience—a full-time position with the hooves and horns department at Franklin Park.
The position was open from early-May, not long after the 2015-2016 academic year ended, until mid-July.
Since the internship was unpaid, he benefitted from the Gundaker Scholarship, which pays for the housing and other expenses of students with unpaid internships.
Diaz-Portalatin received $1500 from the scholarship, which paid for his rent for the 10 weeks that he was living in Boston for the internship.
He added that the scholarship was “phenomenal,” because otherwise he would not have been able to afford the cost of living in Boston for 10 weeks without a source of income.
As a zookeeper’s assistant, Diaz-Portalatin was responsible for cleaning the enclosures of animals, performing safety checks to make sure animals cannot escape their habitats and preparing meals and medicines for the animals.
He also helped in positive reinforcement training, teaching the animals behaviors that make the administering of medicines easier for the zoo caretakers.
“As a zookeeper, you’re cleaning up a lot of poop, but that comes with the job,” Diaz-Portalatin said. “Somebody has to do it and your job is to make sure the animals have a clean and livable space.”
Diaz-Portalatin spent close to half of his time with one of the zoo’s white tigers. He helped decide the dietary and medical combinations for the tiger over the summer and administered much of the medication himself.
Diaz-Portalatin said that the tigers were his favorite animals to work with, but he also enjoyed working with other exotic animals like zebras, giraffes, prairie dogs, warthogs, porcupines, Siberian cranes and kori bustards—Africa’s largest flying bird.
According to zoonewengland.org, the Franklin Park Zoo has more than 100 different species of animals inside its enclosures.
According to the same website, Franklin Park Zoo is 72 acres, and it is located in the historical Boston Franklin Park. It was founded in 1912, and it has a variety of internships available in many different departments of the zoo.
Diaz-Portalatin said that the Career Development Center at Susquehanna helped him tidy up his resume and gave him several tips on interviewing for the job.
“They help to make your experience sound very good,” he said.
When he interviewed with Franklin Park Zoo over the phone, Diaz-Portalatin decided to dress himself formally—in a full suit—a tip he said he received from Whitney Purcell, associate director of career development.
“They’re really helpful in making sure students stay up on their professionalism,” he said. “It really did help me with the interview.”
Diaz-Portalatin said that overall, the experience was positive and reinforced his desire to pursue a career in veterinary studies.
He said that he made many contacts with employees of the Franklin Park Zoo, some of whom he still speaks with regularly.
Diaz-Portalatin added that he applied to the veterinary school at Tufts, in large part because of its proximity to the Franklin Park Zoo.
He said that he would love to work at the zoo on weekends or whenever possible during his time at school.
“I want to go back,” he said, adding that he loved the people he met while working at the Franklin Park Zoo.
After finishing veterinary school, Diaz-Portalatin hopes to find a job working with exotic animals at a wildlife refuge or zoo.
He said he is particularly interested in working with large cats or apes.
