{"id":89990,"date":"2019-11-21T09:15:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T14:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=89990"},"modified":"2019-12-05T12:05:23","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T17:05:23","slug":"wild-encounters-prepared-alumna-for-zoo-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2019\/11\/21\/wild-encounters-prepared-alumna-for-zoo-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild Encounters Prepared Alumna for Zoo Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cage diving with great white sharks. Swimming alongside humpback whales. Getting close to lions and leopards on an African safari.<\/p>\n

It sounds like a nature TV show, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s how Nikki Maticic \u201914 spent one summer break as a Mary Washington student.<\/p>\n

Now she cares for lions, tigers and Andean bears \u2013 oh, my! \u2013 as well as farm animals at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Zoo. Her dream job as an animal keeper became a reality thanks to a UMW biology degree and study abroad trips to South Africa and the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands.<\/p>\n

\"Nikki <\/a>
Nikki Maticic ’14 earned her stripes – and a UMW biology degree – after impactful study abroad trips to South Africa and the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands. She’s now an animal keeper at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Photo courtesy of Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maticic <\/a>
Maticic now works at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where she feeds, provides enrichment and training, and cleans habitats for over 50 mammals, using skills she acquired at UMW \u2013 writing lab reports, logging field notes, and observing animals and their behaviors. Photo courtesy of Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The Leesburg, Virginia, native grew up surrounded by pets \u2013 dogs, cats, fish and hamsters, as well as non-living ones. \u201cI had a doctor\u2019s bag filled with fake syringes, bandages, blood pressure cuffs and a stethoscope for treating my stuffed animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

By the time she came to Mary Washington, Maticic\u2019s fascination with all things with fur, fins or feathers was in full force. She majored in biology and minored in Spanish, taking courses in animal behavior, anatomy, ecology and evolution, and served as secretary and president of the Biology Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cNikki was always passionate about protecting animals,\u201d said Biology Professor Andrew Dolby, who taught Maticic in a class that went to the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands during spring break. \u201cWe learned about the impact of illegal finning on shark populations, and she decided to pursue further research and present on the topic,” Dolby said, adding that Maticic is a gifted wildlife photographer.<\/p>\n

On that trip, Maticic studied sustainability and met with conservationists working to preserve creatures and their habitats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hiked alongside volcanoes and snorkeled with sea lions and tortoises,\u201d she said. \u201cI still remember the excitement I felt when we discovered an animal perched in a tree or swimming in a cove.\u201d<\/p>\n

In South Africa, she took a summer course on the continent\u2019s \u201cultimate predators,\u201d spending a month diving with sharks, swimming with whales, and tracking the movements and health of animals at a wildlife reserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn our nighttime safaris, I felt complete awe watching a lion drink from a watering hole and a mother leopard crouch in the trees with her cubs,\u201d she said. \u201cSitting around a campfire and hearing elephants, hyenas and lions all around us is something I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nikki <\/a>
Nikki Maticic swam with giant tortoises during her study abroad trip to the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A lion drinking at a watering hole in South Africa. Maticic spent a month there during summer break from UMW. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maticic <\/a>
Maticic said listening to elephants, lions and hyenas at night was one of her favorite memories of her study abroad trip to South Africa. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A sea lion in the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands, where Maticic studied sustainability and animal conservation. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A leopard crouching in the trees in South Africa. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A lilac breasted roller in the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands. Photo by Nikki Maticic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Visiting biodiverse regions prepared Maticic to pursue a zoology career and land jobs at the Wildlife Center of Virginia and Leesburg Animal Park.<\/p>\n

Now, at the National Zoo, she feeds, provides enrichment and training, and cleans habitats for over 50 mammals, using skills she acquired at UMW \u2013 writing lab reports, logging field notes, and observing animals and their behaviors. She\u2019s also represented the zoo on a global level with a trip to Paraguay, where she led a training in Spanish and worked with ocelots, jaguars, macaws and pumas.<\/p>\n

Through school visits, keeper chats and Friends of the National Zoo events, Maticic uses her expertise to educate others on wildlife preservation and making safe choices when observing animals while traveling.<\/p>\n

She hopes that by sharing her study abroad experiences of seeing these creatures in their native environments, she\u2019ll inspire young zoo visitors to pursue their own studies in animal conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching animals in the wild only increased my passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In celebration of International Education Week 2019, Nov. 18 to 22, UMW shares stories of students who have studied abroad. One in three\u00a0<\/i>Mary Washington students volunteers, interns, conducts research, or joins a faculty-led trip or other UMW-approved experience outside the United States, according to\u00a0<\/i>Center for International Education (CIE) Director Jose Sainz<\/i>.\u00a0Visit CIE<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>or call\u00a0(540) 654-1434 for more information.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cage diving with great white sharks. Swimming alongside humpback whales. Getting close to lions and leopards on an African safari. It sounds like a nature TV show, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s how Nikki Maticic \u201914 spent one summer break as a Mary Washington student. Now she cares for lions, tigers and Andean bears \u2013 oh, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1236,"featured_media":90014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[12400,12399,751,8869,10037,12524],"topics":[5148],"class_list":{"0":"post-89990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-adolby","9":"tag-biology-club","10":"tag-international-education","11":"tag-department-of-biology","12":"tag-department-of-modern-foreign-languages","13":"tag-outcomes","14":"topic-learning-impact","15":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWild Encounters Prepared Alumna for Zoo Job - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2019\/11\/21\/wild-encounters-prepared-alumna-for-zoo-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wild Encounters Prepared Alumna for Zoo Job\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cage diving with great white sharks. 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