User talk:2601:642:4300:F929:64E3:5FAA:AE29:DD44

Nick Kaney's college essay: "Before the eyes of thousands of visitors, several hundred volunteers, and 700 species of animals, an insecure 13 year old boy, wanting nothing more than the opportunity to become just like his hero Steve Irwin, was able to grow into the leader and ambassador he is now. At the age of 13, I was a short, scrawny, and quiet kid. However, the one thing I was outspoken about was animals. I didn’t care if it was anything from the biggest Saltwater Crocodile ever discovered or the smallest Chameleon in the world. I would watch every available wildlife documentary, but I wanted nothing more than to be like my hero Steve Irwin. His ability to educate the public through his work at the Australia Zoo and his tv show really inspired me, and lead me to be obsessed with visiting the Oakland Zoo. On one of these visits to the zoo, my mom noticed some teenagers wearing bright teal shirts sweeping up goat poop at the contact yard. My mom, being the outgoing woman she is, approached one tall teen wearing a felt hat with a tail feather of a grouse in the fold, “What is it you people do?” “Cleaning up goat poop is definitely the low side of the job, but we basically answer questions anyone may have.” Six months later, I am sitting in Classroom 1 at the Oakland Zoo, going through my training with people years older than me, and the teen with the felt hat and grouse feather in the fold walks in eating a chocolate muffin and is introduced as “Isaac, and he will be one of your supervisors.” Fast forward into 2015, and not only do I love volunteering and educating the public as a Teen Wild Guide at the Oakland Zoo, but I had become the youngest lead ever and actually work with Isaac on Saturdays. Much to my mother’s dismay, I was heading to Madagascar with other TWiGs (The acronym we use to say Teen Wild Guide) that summer to understand the conservation efforts started by the Centre Valbio for the endemic species. Upon coming back from the trip, we found out our boss Melinda was leaving, putting the organization in the capable hands of Katie Garchar. Don’t get me wrong, Melinda was amazing and was able to run the program without any flaws, but I wouldn’t have been the person I am today had it not been for Katie Garchar. Katie took on the program and made it better than anyone ever expected, and Katie loved to bring me along. We did everything imaginable, from having personal conversations with Dr. Jane Goodall to starting programs like Teens vs. Trash where me and three other teens helped raise awareness to the amount of plastic currently and on track to be in the ocean. Perhaps our greatest accomplishment and one of the highlights of volunteering at the Oakland Zoo is traveling. Katie took me and other participants to Yellowstone National Park and Ecuador to help researcher with taking data on animals like Bison and Andean Bears. We also went to South Africa to learn about conservation and anti-poaching efforts. Each trip I went on, not only did I learn and gain friends I will have for life but I also learned so much about myself. However, my proudest moment at the Oakland Zoo was winning Volunteer of the Year. I am the youngest to ever receive it and the only one from my program to ever get it. Just four years ago, I was a wide-eyed, shy, 13-year old just hoping to keep the facts straight in my head and wanting to be Steve Irwin. Now, after a few incredible years doing what I love, I am known among all the staff at the Oakland Zoo as “Kaney, the dude with the hat, who won Volunteer of the Year!"