High school junior Elizabeth Deatrick recently received the Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her extensive volunteer work at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio.
Elizabeth, a member of the ZOOTeen program, works to educate zoo guests about these animals and to improve the conditions of the zoo. “I first heard about the award shortly after I was accepted into the ZOOTeen program. Needless to say, when I heard that we were to be given awards for volunteering, I was even more eager to volunteer more than the monthly 8-hour requirement,” explains Elizabeth.
She has volunteered over 600 hours during the past three years, becoming an active member of the Research Committee and a ZOOSnooze mentor in the process. Her branch of the Research Committee deals with the collecting, storing, and displaying of Biofacts, which are, as Elizabeth notes, “the animal skins, skulls, and bones that we use for education." In her ZOOSnooze work, she works with kids, teaching them about the animals and leading them in activities such as making enrichment for the animals.
Due to her completion of extra training sessions, Elizabeth is now also qualified to train other ZOOTeens to help with Snoozes. “I really love volunteering at the Zoo,” she says. “I’ve learned a lot about animals and their care... made lots of good friends... gained valuable life experience... and I’ve been able to contribute to an organization whose chief duty is to care for and educate the public about animals and the environment.”
Having finally completed her volunteer work for this school year, Elizabeth and her fellow three-year ZOOTeens received their awards in April. “The gold level award requires a minimum of 250 hours of volunteer service to win, but I wound up with over 300 hours last year,” Elizabeth points out, adding, “While I was towards the end of the roster, I was by no means the ZOOTeen with the most hours." In the ceremony, she received a certificate of completion and a small gold pin, which she attached to her zoo ID along with her silver pin.
Elizabeth has already decided her future will most likely involve animals. “I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with my life... I’m currently considering a career in biology or perhaps veterinary medicine. The animal handling skills I’ve learned from the zoo will almost certainly come in handy in any of these careers,” she comments. Although she receives no school credit for her volunteer work, it will look good on her college applications. But, as Elizabeth makes clear, “My main motivation for working towards the award was not the award itself, but having fun and giving back to the zoo that’s given me so many opportunities."
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