Week 6:
Looking Forward

July 10, 2016

This week, I worked with 6-8th graders in a camp called Marine Biology 101. It was awesome because the kids who were attending camp really wanted to be there, and a lot of them wanted to work with animals just like I do. In addition to exploring the park, we also spent a day at Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park. Just by chance we were at Aquatica on the hottest day of the week, which hit a whopping 107 degrees! With 100% humidity, I might add. 

Working with 6-8th graders really reminded me why I love this job. While little kids are extremely cute, there’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up when you teach them something new about an animal they want to work with. The lead educator that I worked with this week has worked at SeaWorld for 12 years, and knew almost everything there was to know. What was really adorable was that we ended up teaching the kids a song that involved the scientific names of many animals in the park! It goes like this:

Hey, Sea Lion!
Hey, sea lion!
Hey hey hey sea lion!
Hey hey hey sea lion! 

Mm, yeah, otter yeah
Mm, yeah, otter yeah 

Odobenus Rosmarius!
Odobenus Rosmarius! 

Turnsiops Truncaetus!
Turnsiops Truncaetus! 

Mm yeah, Orcinus Orca
Mm, yeah, Orcinus Orca 

By the end of the week, the kids knew the scientific names for a walrus, dolphin, orca whale, and more! They loved it.

This week, I’ve also been thinking a lot about my future. For so long, I’ve thought about and worked towards becoming a marine mammal trainer. But actually being at SeaWorld has made me look past that. Not that I don’t still want to train, because I do, but I’m beginning to realize that training probably isn’t sustainable for me. Because of the physical toll on your body, many trainers are out of a job by 35. In addition, the average salary is only $30,000 a year.

As I sit and write this blog post in front of our two beluga whales, Naluark and Whisper, I consider again going into field research. For many years I had written off the prospect of doing research, because I didn’t want to go through that much school, or I didn’t think I’d like it. But as I learn more and more what field research really entails, it’s something I could definitely see myself doing.

I’ve heard countless stories of senior educators at SeaWorld who have been part of research projects tagging sharks, monitoring coral reefs, tracking sea turtles, and so much more. And being a part of research projects becomes more and more appealing as I consider what it really means: helping animals. However, it would also mean getting my masters, and possibly a PhD. However, I might be getting a little ahead of myself. I haven’t even turned 19 yet…

Within the next three years, I hope to secure a training position at a facility with cetaceans. For nearly every position you’re required to take a swim test. SeaWorld’s swim test is by far the most intensive, but it’s the one I’ve decided to train for to make sure I’ll be ready for anything. SeaWorld’s test is given in the Blue Horizons dolphin pool and involves a freestyle swim down and back, an underwater swim across the length of the pool, a free-dive to the bottom of the pool (26ft) to retrieve a 3lb weight, pulling yourself out of the pool and straight onto your feet, a 7ft dive into the pool, and treading water for 2 minutes with your hands above your head.

In addition to being an excellent swimmer, you’re also required to have your scuba license. This is because trainers don scuba gear to clean nearly every pool in the park. It involves putting on a wetsuit, oxygen tank, mask, goggles, etc, to jump into a freezing cold pool and essentially scrub every surface until it sparkles.

I definitely want to try not to get too ahead of myself though. While I’m excited for the future, I also want to focus on where I’m at now, because it’s likely that I’ll never get to experience anything quite like this again.