Introduction Speech
Hello everyone and welcome to the Zoo’s and Aquariums Committed to Conservation first annual gala! We have a few special guest speakers lined up for this evening. The first guest speaker I would like to introduce is extremely smart, driven, and knowledgeable in her field.
As a kid she dreamed of becoming a vet. Even her poor stuffed animals found out the hard way, as a kid she used to try and perform surgery on them. But she didn’t want to just take care of kittens and puppies and guinea pigs. She had bigger ideas. Better ideas. Zoo animal sized ideas. Growing up in a small town of Iowa her dreams started to develop. WIth the help of the wonderful building block, FFA, she had the opportunity get right in on the action.
Through FFA she was able to volunteer at the Blank Park Zoo. And she didn’t waste any time, at the young age of 14 she was already doing what she could to get involved with the zoo. She volunteered for about 4 years. Eventually she would go on and place 2nd at the FFA State Convention for her involvement with the zoo and her skills in wildlife production management. She didn’t stop there. She went on to graduate from Iowa State University at the top of her class and completed vet school in record time. At the peak of her career she traveled abroad with a conservation team whose goal was to help the native populations of Africa coexist with lions, instead of killing them. Fortunately here for us this intelligent and driven individual has taken over as the attending veterinarian for the Blank Park Zoo. Folks, I’d like to introduce Alana Bawl!
As a kid she dreamed of becoming a vet. Even her poor stuffed animals found out the hard way, as a kid she used to try and perform surgery on them. But she didn’t want to just take care of kittens and puppies and guinea pigs. She had bigger ideas. Better ideas. Zoo animal sized ideas. Growing up in a small town of Iowa her dreams started to develop. WIth the help of the wonderful building block, FFA, she had the opportunity get right in on the action.
Through FFA she was able to volunteer at the Blank Park Zoo. And she didn’t waste any time, at the young age of 14 she was already doing what she could to get involved with the zoo. She volunteered for about 4 years. Eventually she would go on and place 2nd at the FFA State Convention for her involvement with the zoo and her skills in wildlife production management. She didn’t stop there. She went on to graduate from Iowa State University at the top of her class and completed vet school in record time. At the peak of her career she traveled abroad with a conservation team whose goal was to help the native populations of Africa coexist with lions, instead of killing them. Fortunately here for us this intelligent and driven individual has taken over as the attending veterinarian for the Blank Park Zoo. Folks, I’d like to introduce Alana Bawl!