Salsa has been my weekend passion. My Friday nights are spent dancing to the strum of flamenco guitars and the tap of drums. Salsa dancing has varied for me from choreographed performances to casual dancing to a scratched CD in Spanish class.

I have loved animals since I was little, and I have been extremely lucky to partake in several conservation and animal protection programs. Conservation Corps has been my inspiration for the past four years. I plan to continue studying animal behavior in college and hopefully research animal behavior abroad.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Conservation Team.

One interesting fact about me is that there is a foot-long wild alligator lizard that continues to come and live in my garage every summer for about four years now. I feed him every morning, afternoon, and night. I can’t lag on his schedule or my dad gets mad because “Mr. Lizard” (that’s his name) sits in front of the steps waiting for me and scares my dad half to death. “Dana!! Your dumb lizard is here again!” It’s pretty funny.

As for the rest of me, I want to become a veterinarian and attend University of California, Davis. Right now my focus is on domestic animals: dogs, cats, rats, and snakes. However, there is always room for exotic animals in my life, which is one reason why I applied for the Zoo InternQuest program. Oh, and I love Arizona green tea. I practically live on that stuff. It’s amazing.

Well, I think that’s all the random things I have to tell you. I hope you enjoy reading about all of the interns and our spectacular journeys to come!!

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Careers Team

However, one thing in my life has always been the same: I have always loved animals. As a child, while other kids were watching cartoons, I turned the television to Animal Planet. Every summer, once a week, my family and I used to take a trip to the Wild Animal Park. Over time, my admiration and respect for all animals has grown, and now I am determined to work with animals and make a difference in the lives of other humans. I hope that the Zoo InternQuest program can help me discover more about different jobs that involve working with animals and help me learn more about the classes I should take in college.

Next year I plan on traveling with Up With People, a program that brings together people from all over the world to perform in shows that raise money for community service. After spending a year with this unique program, I hope to be accepted at the University of California, Davis and pursue a major in animal biology.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Photography Team.

My name is Lauren Zeidler. I am a senior at a free-spirited high school in cozy Encinitas with an accelerated schedule that allows me to take more classes than would a traditional high school. As a result, I have taken every science course offered except one. Stress is no stranger to my academic life, so to rejuvenate myself I let good music and the sun’s rays evaporate my worries. I add some spice to my life by painting, reading classic literature and science fiction, baking, going on adventures with friends, and frolicking in nature’s beauty.

I am the proud president of my school’s Environmental Awareness Club, in which we perform community service to improve our local environment. In college I will deepen my passion for the natural world by studying biology. I speak both Spanish and French and hope to use this knowledge to work on research projects in foreign countries to help endangered species. I look forward to Zoo InternQuest as an extraordinary opportunity to prepare myself for the professional world of biology.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Conservation Team

My name is Lindsay, and I am currently a high school student in my hometown of San Diego. I have an older brother, Matt, who is presently studying at a maritime academy with hopes of becoming a ship captain. Unlike most siblings, he is one of my best friends. Thankfully I have two loving parents, Tim and Stephanie, who always support me in all of my endeavors. Currently I have two miniature dachshunds, Peanut and Pretzel, who are a major part of my home life.

If I am not volunteering with my school’s Key Club, I can be found outside on a walk or an adventure with my brother. When indoors I listen to music constantly while sewing, doing yoga, reading, or working on an art project. Most aren’t aware that I can’t live without my journal or a delicious cup of Bengal spice herbal tea.

Within the last year I have decided that my future will encompass a career focusing on animal biology. By participating in Zoo InternQuest I hope to gain a better understanding of the zoological sciences to find my niche in animal studies.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Careers Team

Life fascinates me. Life is always changing to adapt to the now. While snorkeling in my pool a few years ago, I found a pill bug crawling underwater along the concrete wall. This phenomenon left me bewildered and full of huge questions about this tiny critter that usually stays burrowed in the soil. How could the pill bug survive underwater? When had it adapted this trait? Does it regularly use this trait today? I was, to say the least, wholly impressed. Today, with the expansion of human urbanization, the pill bug’s underwater adaptation allows it to survive. My interaction with the pill bug humbled me to the sheer brilliance of everything alive. There is nothing more exciting for me than the study of life: biology.

Conservation Corps at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park is the major catalyst to my passion for wildlife conservation. I have been an avid and enthusiastic member of the program since freshman year. Considering the Wild Animal Park my home, I ventured into foreign territory here at the Zoo with Zoo InternQuest in the hopes of enriching my understanding of how conservation is supported and handled in zoos and other facilities like the center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES). Biology has always been the rapture of my soul. Unique experiences in wildlife conservation and biology through Conservation Corps and Zoo InternQuest have concentrated my interests to animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology. I aspire to learn more about the ways animals interact with each other and their environment for the preservation of animal diversity. By studying animal behavior, I also expect to gather a greater wisdom of the intricate and sometimes primitive behavior between people. Aren’t we just another animal walking this planet?

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Real World Team.

I am thrilled to be a part of Zoo InternQuest to explore the various areas of zoological research and wildlife management and to also work with other high school students throughout the internship in a collaborative effort. I first became involved with the Zoo regarding a science fair project on diatoms, but I have since become active in several other Zoo programs.

I am also the San Diego Zoo’s Arctic Ambassador for 2008, Year of the Polar Bear. I traveled to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada (“Polar Bear Capital of the World”) to participate in Polar Bears International Leadership Camp. The camp brought together 16 teenagers from around the world to discuss the current threats of global climate change on the Arctic ecosystem, specifically the polar bear populations. In addition to observing polar bears in their natural environment, the Arctic tundra, we prepared different programs and presentations to bring back to our countries and cities to inspire, inform, and empower community members about issues regarding global climate change. (Read my blogs as a Arctic Ambassador here…)

When I am not at the San Diego Zoo or making a presentation about global climate change, I am a competitive swimmer for both my school and club teams. I hope to attend a university with many opportunities for collaborative research and major in the biological sciences. I then plan to continue my studies and earn a doctoral and/or law degree. I am intrigued by biology because new knowledge in the field is constantly changing the way we view the world!

I will be a part of the Zoo InternQuest Real World Team.

My name is Sonia, but most people call me by my nickname “Sunny.” When I am not at school or at the zoo, I take advantage of San Diego’s geographic location by surfing, swimming, and going to the beach. Other activities I enjoy are watching movies and playing famous theme songs on the piano. On weekends, I frequently volunteer at the Chula Vista Nature Center as a monitor for the Shark and Ray Exhibit, educating others about the marine life in San Diego Bay.

My continued curiosity in the field of science has prompted me to venture into lots of different topics such as chemistry and biology. After taking various science courses offered at my high school, I have discovered that I have a deep interest in biology. Now knowing which science field I want to continue in, I have been trying to discover what aspect of biology interests me most. On my journey to discover what majors and careers I wish to pursue in college, I have stumbled upon conservation biology and the Zoo InternQuest Program. Now that I am more familiar with these topics, I think that this is one of the many paths I want to continue studying in the future.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Photo Team.

Last year Jane decided to take an AP biology class where she became excited about the idea of evolution and the study of genetics. She is especially interested in genetic diseases and the growing ethical debate about what society will do with new genetics technology and information.

About six months ago Jane decided that traditional high school was not for her and since then she has explored charter schooling, home schooling, and self-directed learning. She loves to read and talk about education, how people learn, and how communities form. Jane also enjoys painting and drawing people, making jewelry out of trash and found objects, historical costuming, rock climbing, meeting new people, and traveling cheaply.

In a few years Jane hopes to attend college somewhere in the Pacific Northwest and pursue a career in conservation, genetic research, or art and design. She would like to meet people offering jobs or internships pertaining to these fields of study.

She is on the Zoo InternQuest Conservation Team.

For most of my middle school and high school career I have played water polo, swum competitively, and surfed at the local beaches whenever the time is right and the surf is high. If I am not in some body of water then you can probably find me watching a movie or reading a good book, as I enjoy watching or reading a story unfold equally. I also like to spend time going to the beach with my friends just to play some beach volleyball, kayak, and in the night have big pit fires, although these activities are usually on the weekends and during long summer days.

I suppose my real interest in animals started while I was reading books on dinosaurs. Their outlandish shapes and inhuman features made these archaic beasts a hobby for me. Although I’ve since grown out of this fixation of the ancient reptiles I have now replaced them with a fascination with today’s creatures in the world. Their study and protection have become topics that I am always curious about.

I am on the Zoo InternQuest Photo Team.