Wildlife Science Major
For summer 2002, I found a job as an environmental educator at Cincinnati Nature Center. I got to live on the 790-acre preserve and spend the entire summer submerged in amazing wildlife habitat.
Basically, I taught a different age group of kids each week about trees, mammals, birds, plants, stream and pond habitats. We would go hiking every day and see whatever there was to be seen. We sang songs, camped out, and did projects too. Some days we would hike down to the stream and look for fossils in the limestone streambed. We'd see snakes, fish, and salamanders. Other days we would study the pond and see frogs, HUGE bullfrog tadpoles, geese, insects in every stage of metamorphosis, and animal tracks from an array of terrestrial life forms. Recycling was made into a game to see which group could have the least trash (by weight) every day. Kids reused sandwich bags, 'lunchables' and juice boxes were frowned upon, and fruit and vegetables were composted. It was very cool to see young children so excited about nature.
This summer job gave me a well-rounded knowledge base of nature in general. I found this position via Internet and actually ended up to be part of a staff representing Tech, Humboldt, Xavier, and Ohio State.