Alumni Achievements

'Just being at Carthage, you learn how to challenge yourself'

Valerie Bogie, '05, takes her degree to the water

Valerie Bogie, '05, is already holding down her dream job, and thousands of people see her doing that job each year.

"I went to Sea World when I was 5 and saw Shamu," she recalls. Since then, she says, she wanted to work with and care for animals.

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At Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Ms. Bogie is one of nearly 50 animal care specialists. Visitors to the Aquarium can see her work with whales or dolphins during several daily training sessions and shows.

During training sessions, a care specialist feeds the animal, while conducting a series of training exercises.

"This is very important to maintain the health of our animals," says Brendan Bradley of Shedd's public relations staff. "It allows us to properly monitor them."

Internship leads to opportunity: Getting her start at Shedd

Ms. Bogie grew up in New Lenox, Ill., and worked at a veterinary hospital while in high school. She followed her older sister, Jessica Bogie, '00, to Carthage, where she had a double major in environmental science and geography, with a biology minor.

While a senior at Carthage, Ms. Bogie was an intern at the Racine (Wis.) Zoo. After graduation, she was a marine mammal intern at Shedd for six months, then worked at the Racine Zoo again, as a full-time zookeeper. In Autumn 2007, Ms. Bogie was hired temporarily at Shedd to help observe Miki, a newborn whale calf.

"When we have to hand-raise a baby penguin or sea otter, it's 24-hour care," she reports. Whales and dolphins are raised by their own mothers, she adds, but the newborns are still monitored round-the-clock for the first three to six months of their lives.

After the end of her temporary job at Shedd, Ms. Bogie worked at Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago for five months. A major renovation project at Shedd in 2008 opened the door for her return to the aquarium.

Shedd closed its Oceanarium for renovation for nine months in 2008-09. During this period whales, dolphins and otters were temporarily transferred to other aquariums, with their trainers. Ms. Bogie rejoined Shedd to care for penguins, and to train dogs who appeared in the aquarium's show while the whales and dolphins were elsewhere. She has mainly worked with whales and dolphins for the past two years.

"By the time you've been here five years, you've worked with a wide variety of animals," says Ms. Bogie, who adds that she feels privileged to work with the Aquarium's animals.

Training sessions encourage cooperation

Ms. Bogie has four "focus animals" she works with most intensely. They are Kayavak, the whale shown with her in the accompanying pictures; another whale, Mauyak; and two dolphins.

According to Ms. Bogie, the whales and dolphins normally have their blood tested monthly, and receive annual physical examinations. Many of the steps she takes during training sessions mimic those done during actual procedures, such as blood tests, eye and dental exams, and ultrasound exams.

The training sessions are designed to encourage cooperation from the animals.

"I don't like getting a needle in my arm, but if you ask me to practice 100 times and give me a cookie every time, the probability is that I'll do it when it's time for the real thing," Ms. Bogie says.

When actual medical procedures are necessary, she adds, "it's a lot easier and quicker for her willingly to give her tail, than to get her in a stretcher and out of the water. It's stressful for her and stressful for us."

Training sessions are also designed to encourage cooperation when animals must move to a different habitat, to provide mental stimulus and to provide exercise.

"They have a very cushy life here, they don't have to worry about being chased by predators, or chasing their prey," Ms. Bogie says of the animals at Shedd. "We want exercise to be part of their regimen."

Mission: To entertain and educate

A number of the training sessions are integrated into Shedd's aquatic shows. The aquarium seeks to balance its educational mission with the goal of entertaining visitors.

"A large part of our show is committed to education," says Mr. Bradley. "It captivates our audience, so they'll want to learn more about the animals."

Ms. Bogie says creating the right mixture in the show is a challenge.

"If it's too entertaining, people say it's not educational enough," she says. "If it's too heavily worded, kids get bored. We have to reach everyone from 2-year-olds to grandpas and grandmas."

Ms. Bogie says she appreciated her years at the College and continues to use lessons she learned in and outside the classroom in her career at Shedd. "Just being at Carthage, you learn how to challenge yourself and think outside the box," she says.

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UPDATE: After this interview at Shedd Aquarium, Ms. Bogie took the position of aviculturist II at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas.

"I will be working with penguins and other species of birds they have," she reported in an e-mail. "I applied on a whim, never thinking I'd ever actually get the job. Well, after two phone interviews I was offered the job four days later."

Making the move "took a lot of thinking," she added. "I really love working at Shedd, but SeaWorld has always been my dream, and I felt I owe it to the 5- to 6-year-old version of myself to go down there and try it out. Who knows what will happen next? Maybe to a different department at SeaWorld San Antonio, maybe to a different SeaWorld, maybe back to Shedd. I am thankful for my four years at Shedd and am excited for the new opportunities that lie ahead in San Antonio."

— Bill Kurtz, Carthage College

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