Erin Vargo

Background

About Erin Vargo

Hello Everyone, My animal related experience started during my high school years as a volunteer with the dogs at the Noah's Project Animal Shelter in Muskegon, MI. During college I participated in the Disney College Program in the ride operations department at Disney Quest where I learned to fine tune my hospitality and soft skills. The next summer I worked in the education department at John Ball Zoo as a Zoo Interpreter. I oversaw the interactive exhibits like the wallaby walk through and the stingray touch pool, and I gave presentations while keepers trained the animals. The following year I jumped over to Africa to be an intern at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. Here I focused on cheetah husbandry, but also did some data entry, educational outreach, and ecology field work. On my most recent adventure, I landed myself a carnivore internship at Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR. Here I specialized in bears, tigers, cheetahs, and lions. The work involved all aspects of carnivore husbandry and included helping to raise a litter of cubs, giving a presentation to the 100+ zoo docents, and creating a large enrichment project. I am extremely passionate about what I do and these opportunities have helped me develop solid skills in public speaking, online communications, data entry, animal husbandry, heavy lifting, and much more.