School Life
Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo
Student Curators
Hector Stephenson
Hector Stephenson ’26 is from Bedford, New York. He followed in his brother’s footsteps at the zoo, working there all four years of high school and becoming a head curator as a VIth former.
1. What’s your favorite animal at the zoo?"My favorite animal is an alpaca named Goliath. My brother used to go here—he graduated last year—and I remember one of the first animals he told me about was Goliath, because it's a very skittish animal that he had a great connection with. So, ever since then, I've had a fondness toward Goliath."
2. What have you learned at the zoo?
"It's a lot of responsibility to take care of another life form, which has been a fantastic experience. You don't really get to learn that anywhere else. Having that responsibility really opens up your mind to the responsibilities of life and how fragile life can be. We've seen the passing of some animals, unfortunately, and I feel that made me value life a bit more."
3. What advice do you have for future zoo curators?
"I would say, really enjoy this experience. This is the only place you're ever going to get an experience like this at this age, so try and learn and enjoy every minute of it, because you're not going to have it again."
