Welly wearing for beginners

'So, tell us about yourself' ...........
That difficult question that anyone can ask of you, especially if you are 17 and sat in the most important interview of your life so far. I was sat in the hallowed offices of the Zoological Society of London feeling a combination of excitement and curiosity. Thankfully for me nerves did not form part of my repertoire at that stage in my life.

I spoke about myself, unsure what constituted an appropriate answer, and mentioned the array of animals that had shared my life up to that point. I tried to appear as calm as I could, spoke clearly, and listened as they explained exactly what I was being interviewed for. I felt completely at home in that office and just wanted the two people opposite me to understand how important this moment in time was to me. Thankfully my answers seemed to gain me entry into this secretive world and I was on my way through the door and into the zoo itself.

One piece of advice I would give to anybody finding themselves in a similar situation is to give the impression of being unflappable, even if you are quaking inside. Don't ramble on about your 'love' for every pet you have ever had, and do not list every species of animal with which you hope to work. This may sound harsh, but the powers that be are always very wary of overattachment and inflexibility. Respect for animals and an open approach to where you may end up working is essential. You may have always dreamed of working with elephants but you may well have to start out grooming rabbits in the Children's Zoo to get there.

My first day as a baby zoo keeper arrived and I found myself in the zoo stores being kitted out with my uniform and my wellies. I was then taken to meet the overseers who did their best to intimidate me into submission and wipe the cheeky grin off my face by issuing me with my first work placement. I must admit that the cheeky grin did freeze for a second as I realised that I would be working for my first rotation in the insect house !
The staff in my new working location were all really friendly and I quickly realised never to allow a brief moment of panic to stop myself from taking on board the positives in any given situation. Being faced with rows of plastic tubes, each containing a tiny baby spider waiting to be fed, took me way out of any comfort zone or expectation about what my job would involve. I was handed a deeper pot containing tiny hatchling crickets and instructed to carefully tip one cricket in with each baby spider.
This breakfast ritual for my tiny charges became a source of immense fascination as they quickly shed their skins and grew. Baby praying mantids were lined up for similar care alongside the spiderlings and much of my day was spent in quiet concentration tending to their needs.
I learned the latin names for the species in our care and gained the nickname 'Cricket' as I frequently ended up with stray hatchling crickets in my hair after feeding time.

I will forever be indebted to the staff from the insect house for the way that they taught me patience and attention to the tiniest detail. I learned to appreciate things as they are, without preconcieved ideas as to what I think I like and don't like. This introduction to the world of zoo keeping showed me the diversity of the world I was entering, and the range of skills I would need to develop to make my way through.