IZE is excited to launch the Job Experience Program (JEP) in 2017 where IZE members can apply for a job experience at another IZE Institution.
Farrah Cheung, from Ocean Park, is the first participant in the IZE Job Experience Program. She is currently at San Diego Zoo and took time to share some thoughts with us!
I can never imagine that I would have a chance to go for exchange after graduating from college. I was so excited when I first heard of this programme in the seasonal meeting. Things happened in a very fast pace. In the blink of an eye, I was in San Diego Already. I was very lucky that the San Diego Zoo Global has arranged many experiences in different departments and other institute.
I spent two weeks in San Diego and I visited the Institute for Conservation Science, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego. I participated in the 3-Day Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science held by the Institute with 30 teachers and educators from the States, Italy and Kenya. In these workshops, they taught us how to put science experiments in their researches into middle school programmes which the students could be able to understand easily. It was so inspiring! I also took part in the safari experiences in the Safari Park such as Flightline Safari, Jungle Ropes Safari, Caravan Safari and some other else. The adventures programmes were so exciting and I got a lot of challenges to overcome. In the Caravan Safari, I had a chance to feed rhinos and giraffes. Animals in the books were out right in front of me within a touchable distance. They were amazing! I was given a chance to join the Inside Look Tour with elephants and friends and shadowed the summer camp held by the Zoo. Being with campers in different grades throughout the day allowed me to learnt in what ways I can manage the order of the students. Sometimes I felt so warm being with the kinder. They would hold your hand and lead you, a stranger, to the birds that they appreciated and tried to introduce the birds to you. I could feel their enthusiasm. Although the campers in my summer camp attachment in SeaWorld San Diego were older, they loved sharing their thoughts and feeling with me. By enjoying the activities with the campers, I got new ideas in my future programme development in Ocean Park Hong Kong.Not only attached to educational activities, but also visited the Department of Interpretation of San Diego Zoo Global. I appreciated the design of websites, publications, special television channel and the production team very much. Exchange is about give and take. We shared the ideas of publications in our institutes and got inspired in the future design. I believe this could bring improvements to both of us.
It was such a valuable opportunity that I could have a deep exploration in an institute overseas and learn from them. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! In this programme, I learnt and I grew.
Figure 1 Visiting Vet Hospital with the teachers and educators during Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science
Figure 2 Touching camel during the Inside Look Tour: Elephants and Friends
Figure 3 Feeding rhino in Caravan Safari
Figure 4 Watching cheetah run in San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Figure 5 Visiting the birds with kinder campers in San Diego Zoo
Figure 6 Watching dolphin show with the campers in SeaWorld San Diego
Figure 7 Jungle Ropes Safari in San Diego Zoo Safari Park