The First Hours
As of today, I've officially moved from a volunteer prospect to a volunteer applicant at GAQ. Basically, that means that as soon as I pass the background check, I'll officially be an active volunteer there. And I've already got 2 volunteer hours down JUST for going to the info session. That's admittedly pretty sweet.
It was amusing when I first walked into the main behind the scenes area.... the second that the "aquarium smell" hit me a wave of nostalgia hit me too. I know it might sound crazy, but the subtle hint of saltwater with the occasional food prep scent is just... something that just feels welcoming to me. It kinda reminds me of my internship at the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and of the ocean itself. It's part of my element and I could very easily get used to coming into a building and going around it every day. That's probably a good thing, but it's just a little something special to me. Yes, I'm a marine biologist, but some of those little things just mean something. And I guess the little things count.
I couldn't help but perk up when the info session got into the details for the husbandry and diving areas of volunteering... then again, since I was the only one present with a background in marine biology and SCUBA diving, it was to be expected... and it was kinda funny. XD Still, the great news is that once I become active, I don't have to wait to volunteer for those for nearly as long as I thought I did. Initially, I had read that it took a year of volunteering to be considered for those. Not the case. In actuality, it's a minimum of 36 hours with at least 20 of those on the floor. That is easily a week or two's worth of volunteering. And hopefully, even if I wind up getting hired for a part-time job around this, I'll be able to volunteer a lot. It looks like they need lots of help during the holidays and I'm willing enough to give it. I'll keep things updated here on training sessions, which areas I get to volunteer in, and where things lead up to. Right now, it's looking like I can do anything from general volunteer jobs to being one of the mascots (yeah, Wolf Link prepared me for this... XD) to gallery presentation. The funny thing is given my degree/interests as well as how many times I've been to GAQ, I'll need to dumb down some of what I would give in a gallery spiel. That's nothing against anyone... but it's kind of amusing that I'm already in the field and am starting to volunteer. And hey, it'll make my job easier. Hopefully my eagerness will be helpful too. From the look of things, the volunteer coordinator that helped us today already caught onto my enthusiasm and seems excited to have me coming onboard.
Everyone there is so nice... I mean, I'm not even an active volunteer yet and everyone I ran into whether it was the security check behind the scenes or in the café is already treating me like I'm their coworker. Seriously, that's a REALLY good feeling. I'm looking forward to volunteering and getting the training session done, and from the sound of things, it's going to be a great place to be no matter how long it takes for me to actually land a job there. And according to the volunteer coordinator who was helping me today? Yeah... I'm not the only one who's used volunteering as a means to get my foot in the door. She started out that way too. Right now... things are looking promising for GAQ in general. And I'm excited about that.
It was amusing when I first walked into the main behind the scenes area.... the second that the "aquarium smell" hit me a wave of nostalgia hit me too. I know it might sound crazy, but the subtle hint of saltwater with the occasional food prep scent is just... something that just feels welcoming to me. It kinda reminds me of my internship at the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and of the ocean itself. It's part of my element and I could very easily get used to coming into a building and going around it every day. That's probably a good thing, but it's just a little something special to me. Yes, I'm a marine biologist, but some of those little things just mean something. And I guess the little things count.
I couldn't help but perk up when the info session got into the details for the husbandry and diving areas of volunteering... then again, since I was the only one present with a background in marine biology and SCUBA diving, it was to be expected... and it was kinda funny. XD Still, the great news is that once I become active, I don't have to wait to volunteer for those for nearly as long as I thought I did. Initially, I had read that it took a year of volunteering to be considered for those. Not the case. In actuality, it's a minimum of 36 hours with at least 20 of those on the floor. That is easily a week or two's worth of volunteering. And hopefully, even if I wind up getting hired for a part-time job around this, I'll be able to volunteer a lot. It looks like they need lots of help during the holidays and I'm willing enough to give it. I'll keep things updated here on training sessions, which areas I get to volunteer in, and where things lead up to. Right now, it's looking like I can do anything from general volunteer jobs to being one of the mascots (yeah, Wolf Link prepared me for this... XD) to gallery presentation. The funny thing is given my degree/interests as well as how many times I've been to GAQ, I'll need to dumb down some of what I would give in a gallery spiel. That's nothing against anyone... but it's kind of amusing that I'm already in the field and am starting to volunteer. And hey, it'll make my job easier. Hopefully my eagerness will be helpful too. From the look of things, the volunteer coordinator that helped us today already caught onto my enthusiasm and seems excited to have me coming onboard.
Everyone there is so nice... I mean, I'm not even an active volunteer yet and everyone I ran into whether it was the security check behind the scenes or in the café is already treating me like I'm their coworker. Seriously, that's a REALLY good feeling. I'm looking forward to volunteering and getting the training session done, and from the sound of things, it's going to be a great place to be no matter how long it takes for me to actually land a job there. And according to the volunteer coordinator who was helping me today? Yeah... I'm not the only one who's used volunteering as a means to get my foot in the door. She started out that way too. Right now... things are looking promising for GAQ in general. And I'm excited about that.