While many zoos offer internships for students after they've graduated, Reid Park Zoo officials aren't aware of any other program that offers this type of experience for doctoral students
Caitlin Schmidt On a recent Wednesday, University of Arizona student Chantal Lesmeister shoveled rhinoceros poop, helped conduct a behavioral study on Chilean flamingos, learned about giraffe nutrition, evaluated bloodwork on an elephant and performed a physical exam on a ferret. And that was all before noon.
People are also reading… During the third and final year of the program, students participate in eight four-week elective rotations gaining on-site, practical experience in a variety of settings and with a range of species. In addition to the zoo, students can spend time learning in veterinary practices, with state and federal wildlife agencies and more.
During their rotation, students shadow Roth as she oversees care for the hundreds of animals housed at the zoo. Zoo medicine is a competitive field and the earlier students can get hands-on field experience, the better their chances are of securing a job, Roth said. "I really love sharing what I do with these folks," she said."The UA reached out to us, I think, because they recognize that and saw what a unique experience it is.""I've always been interested in zoo medicine, but it's a really hard field to get into," Bronshtein said.
Interest in the program has grown in the college's three years. There were 550 applicants for the inaugural class, but the school received more than 2,000 applications for the class that will begin next fall. Roth said the interns that have rotated through have been surprised to learn how much it takes to care for the various species, since most of them haven't spent time around zoo animals.