“Find something that really peaks your interest and you will feel really good doing it,” that’s the advice from Mike Grosso when asked how he encourages others to get involved in their communities. Nominated by Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, we are thrilled to honor Mike as our May Volunteer of the Month and to celebrate everything he does to give back to his community!
A longtime resident of Monroe, CT, Mike retired from his career as a school psychologist in 2003. He was looking for something to do with his free time and was hoping for something different than what he’d done during his career. His wife mentioned the zoo and his interest immediately peaked. He’s been a docent at the zoo since 2011 and he loves the work he does. He started as a volunteer educator, meeting and greeting the public and talking about the animals with visitors and school groups. He then became certified as an animal handler, which allows him to work with a number of the education department’s animal ambassadors, these are the animals used for on-grounds and off-grounds programs. To be certified, Mike went through several weeks of detailed and intricate training with the Animal Care Specialists, who exclusively care for all the animals on exhibit at the zoo.
