School Life
Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo
Student Curators
Ingrid Schmitt
Ingrid Schmitt '26 has been a faculty kid at Millbrook since 2018. Before moving here, she lived in the Bahamas, as her father worked at an institution with a research facility, and she fondly remembers shadowing researchers and caring for animals there. She’s been involved at the zoo since coming to Millbrook and is now a head curator.
Get to know more about Ingrid and how the zoo has impacted her through our Q&A with her:
1. What’s your favorite animal at the zoo?“My favorite animal is George. He's a tortoise. I just like how calm he is. Every animal has their special needs and everything that they need to have cared for, but he's just so chill and he loves being petted. He kind of represents my time to chill out.”
2. What’s been your favorite zoo experience?“I remember—I think it was my first time ever at the zoo—the zoo staff said, ‘Do you want to see the red panda?’ I said, ‘Yeah, of course I want to see the red panda!’ And so, they took me to it. I was expecting to just see it, because that's what I thought ‘see it’ meant. But then they took me inside the enclosure, and I got to hand-feed it craisins. And that was my welcome to Millbrook. That was the coolest thing that had ever happened to me.”
3. What have you learned at the zoo?“I've learned a lot about having responsibility and being responsible for other students and working as a team, as you're always paired up with another curator. I've also learned about animal behavior, and I've shadowed the vet a few times. But the main thing I've learned is that I have a passion for animals.”
4. What advice do you have for future zoo curators?“Take the time out of your day to go to the zoo when it's not for community service. Even if you're not caring for animals or doing anything, seeing it in a light other than the stressful environment of community service is very important, because you can appreciate the animals more and appreciate what we have here, which is so unique.”
