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Name:
Matt Seguin |
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Title:
Aquarist |
Park:
Discovery Cove |
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Hometown:
Chicago, Illinois |
Time with SeaWorld:
Three years |
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Background:
At my preschool graduation, I announced I wanted to work
with ocean animals. One thing, however, was standing in
my way. I lived in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois,
surrounded by cornfields. I made up for this by reading
everything I could about animals and the ocean, and spending
my spare time as a modern-day Huck Finn, exploring the
ponds and creeks around my house and visiting local zoos
and aquariums. I would soak everything in, going out of
my way to ask keepers about their jobs and the animals
under their care. My first real job was working for a
veterinarian, and I really enjoyed it. I attended the
University of Florida and was accepted to the vet school's
early admission program. I also found a job in the Ichthyology
department at the Florida Museum of Natural History, working
on the international shark attack file and helping with
the fish collection. Soon - no pun intended - I became
hooked on fish. Instead of purusing vet school, I graduated
and enrolled in the University of Central Florida's Masters
program, studying deep-water marine fish. This is when
I started working at Discovery Cove as a Host, about a
month before it opened in Summer 2000. In March 2002,
I transferred to the aquarium department as an aquarist
trainee. Here I have been able to integrate my animal
knowledge with my love for talking to people. I have learned
a lot about the husbandry involved in caring for a system
as large as ours. It is definitely more involved then
the small goldfish tanks I had growing up.
Favorite part of the job:
Sharing what I do with the guests who visit Discovery
Cove. All of us in the aquarium department (along with
the dive shop and the water quality team) put a lot of
time and effort into our systems. I love seeing the excitement
in our guest's eyes as they explore the reef and enjoy
the fruits of our labor. I have the opportunity to discuss
anything from how we take care of our fish, to what kind
of fish we have, to the best places to scuba dive in Florida.
My job hardly seems like work. I love it. My top priority
is the safety and well-being our guests and almost 9,000
animals under our care. Guest enjoyment is, of course,
another objective, and entails everything from ensuring
the viewing widows are crystal clear to teaching somebody
to breathe through a snorkel. I love talking to the kids.
Many times, at the end of the day, I have a small group
of them following me around firing off questions as I
feed the animals. When I talk to them about my job and
tell them that they should come and work with me in a
few years, I can see myself as one of them. I am still
relatively new to the aquarium field, but the challenge
of having so much to learn along with the satisfaction
of talking to guests have made me realize that this is
the career for me.
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