Ode to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Some very wonderful things have happened in my life and there's one place I have to thank for the best of them: the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It's where I had my most favorite job, where I learned that there are other people who are passionate about conservation, where my friendship with my best friend grew, where I met my partner, and where I got my master's degree. It's astonishing to think how different my life might be if not for this incredible place.

If I remember correctly, this was my favorite giraffe, Chinde. (2009)

In 2009 I got laid off from my first post-college job. The financial recession was in full swing, and I applied for a temporary position at the zoo (the actual zoo, I thought) figuring why not? I was unemployed and loved wildlife, so working at a zoo seemed like it might be fun. But I had hoped I'd have a better, real job before my interview.

I didn't, and went to the interview. I learned what the job actually was, since it wasn't clear in the job description, and was so excited. I got the job and spent the next 5 months driving a truck full of people into the 100-acre open space exhibits, where giraffe, rhino, gazelle, and birds freely roamed together. Occasionally a rhino or giraffe would approach my window and take pets. My days were spent in "Africa", looking at the incredible landscapes and stunning wildlife. As a perk, I could bring friends and family when there was open space, and took my best friend a few times. Years later we still spend our Sundays at the zoo, walking around and chatting about life among the animals.

My Safari Park coworkers taught me that it's not just OK to be passionate about conservation, but that you can have a career in conservation. For the first time in my life I felt at home with the people I worked with, like I wasn't so different and so weird. I learned that I needed to seek out people like them, and I'm happy now that I have a strong network of passionate conservationists.

When conservationists find a tarantula in the desert. (2017)

It was that spark that made me apply for the Advanced Inquiry Program, provided jointly through San Diego Zoo Global. There I met a couple dozen new people who were equally passionate about wildlife, conservation, and inspiring the next generation. I learned from people who are working in their fields, researched issues that are important to me, spoke with people around the world about conservation, and even went to Africa. In the end, it led to a job with a major non-profit conservation organization, and I couldn't be happier.

Ready to run! In my awful high school gym shorts! (2011)

The Safari Park was the location and the reason for running my first half marathon. I had never run so much as a 5K but had been getting into the idea of running for exercise. This half marathon was cheap compared to the others I had heard of and the proceeds were to build a new tiger exhibit. It was a bit of a cluster, but I ran faster than I had trained and felt so proud that I could finish. I've since done several others, including a couple others at the Safari Park, but that was the best (even though it's no longer my fastest). I still carry a souvenir keychain that is one of my most prized possessions. I'm more into running these days and credit that race.

On Skyfari during one of our zoo visits in 2013.

It was also where I met a friend, who became The Boyfriend, who became The Fiancé. He and my best friend came to my graduation reception, held of course at the Safari Park, overlooking the same exhibit I drove the truck 10 years ago in my most favorite job. I often think about how different my life might be if it wasn't for that temporary job at the Safari Park.

Thank you, San Diego Zoo Safari Park (or Wild Animal Park, which I still can't stop saying).

Grad school is lonely

My first grad school selfie, taken after spending 6 hours at the hippo exhibit for a research project.

Grad school is lonely. Yeah you meet a bunch of new people all doing similar things and you think you have this awesome community (which you do) but you’re all grad students with lives and jobs and homework and no one has time to hang out. You don’t have time to hang out. You can’t even make it to the once a year happy hour because it’s at an inconvenient time or place and it’s your only Saturday off.

I'm not gonna lie - the last two years brought some hard times. It wasn’t just having to turn down social events because all my time and money was going to class. I left my well-paying job (which allowed me to pay for grad school) because I couldn’t handle the stress. I was in a car accident that left me without a car. I had 0 dollars thanks to a lower stress but much lower paying job and didn’t work for the month I was in Africa. We got kicked out of our house because our landlady wasn’t paying her mortgage and the investment company that bought the house wanted to flip it. After weeks of searching and either finding crap options, too expensive options, or being turned down due to pets, we’re in a small but nice apartment and paying an extra couple hundred a month. I took on an extra class and had one month where I was technically taking 11 units. There were multiple months where I didn’t run even once (forget yoga).

And that was just in 2018.

Me most Friday and Saturday nights. Happy here because animals.

It’s like having a kid. Your whole life changes, but everyone else goes on without you. My relationship changed, I was back on a school schedule, I’m perpetually exhausted, barely see friends and had no impromptu get togethers, and my grad school friends were either just as busy and broke or both those things in addition to being actual parents (how did they manage that???). Hearing “I don’t know how you do it” for working and schooling full time didn’t help, because I didn’t know. The Boyfriend makes dinner and cleans up and I spend 22 minutes with him a day (the amount of time it takes to watch an episode of Parks and Rec while we ate dinner). I get jealous when he has a lazy weekend napping with the animals or going out with friends.

But it's all coming to an end. In a month from today I'll be in Ohio with my classmates, walking across the stage to get our diplomas. I'm looking forward to it, especially to getting my social life back, to being a more present girlfriend, and to focusing on wellness and mental health. But I also know that despite feeling lonely and stressed AF for 2.5 years I’ll miss it. I’ve loved every minute of learning and reading and talking with my cohort members about conservation. Even the long, boring, technical articles contributed to my understanding of what people around the world were doing. Not to mention, it led me to Africa, where I finally saw wild, healthy elephants. Lots of them. (I touched some. Seriously, I almost died of happiness.) I know that in January when the holidays are over and life returns to normal that I’ll feel this emptiness.

I have truly found my people.

In addition to planning a bunch of trips for next year, I have another new way I'll fill my time and hopefully continue learning about conservation: I just started a new job with The Nature Conservancy! I'm so proud and excited to have reached my goal of working in conservation before even graduating. I also hope that I can keep the connection to my cohort and surround myself with those who share a mission-driven purpose and believe in the importance of conservation. The biggest thing I learned has been that conservation isn't for the animals - it's for us. Our very survival depends on what we do in the next 10 years, and I'll be working hard to do my part.