Posted: January 29, 2025
"If you're willing to learn, do the work, and be patient everything will fall into place."
Name: Nick Milone
Preferred Pronouns: He/His
Hometown & Current Town: Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Clermont, Fl.
Graduation Year: BS 2009
Major(s) & Minor(s): BS Animal Science
Current/Most Recent Professional Title: Animal Keeper
Name of Employer/Organization (or self-employed/retired): Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accredited Facility in Florida
Brief Description of Your Role/Profession: My job title is an animal keeper. I do everything from feeding to cleaning to the training of animals. I also participate in their healthcare. Basically, anything you can think of revolving around the day-to-day care of an animal, I'm probably involved in it. I'm currently an ectotherm keeper, and I work with reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. In the past, I've worked with fruit bats, tigers, meerkats, hoof stock, and birds.
Why did you choose Penn State?
I chose Penn State because I fell in love with the football team as a young kid. I grew up relatively close and really started to fall in love with the program in the early 90s. As I got older and looked into different options for school, I knew Penn State was the place for me.
What inspired you to pursue your degree?
I've always loved animals. When I was a young kid, I trained dogs and volunteered with a veterinarian. I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian. As I got older and went through school, I realized veterinarians often only see animals when they are sick. I didn't think that was the path I wanted to take. I pivoted to wanting to become an animal keeper because I'd get to see animals every day and get to interact with them through the good and bad. In my job, I get to help them learn fun behaviors, learn what their motivations are, and get them to do behaviors that many don't think they're capable of doing.
What clubs or organizations were you involved in as a student?
I was in the Penn State Blue Band, and I was also in the music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha.
What is a favorite Penn State memory?
I would have to say the Orange Bowl after the 2005 football season. I got to go as part of the Blue Band and experience that game. The 2004 season was rough, but seeing the whole campus come around the next year and support the team was really exciting.
How has your Penn State education influenced your career or life?
It gave me a lot of the baseline knowledge I needed to understand animal needs. I've been lucky in my career to have two peer-reviewed scientific papers published. Understanding the process of how to do research has allowed me to participate in research my colleagues are doing with species that aren't readily understood. That knowledge came from my time at Penn State.
As an animal keeper, is it easy to go to work every day?
We work four 10-hour days. Working at a large facility, we go in sometimes as early as 5 a.m. and may stay late into the night. We do have multiple shifts. One of the most challenging things is that when a hurricane comes, we sit and ride it out with the animals. We're there to make sure they're safe inside, are fed and healthy, are ok after the storm, and start the cleanup.
Have you had any unique experiences with your profession?
COVID was a challenging time. A lot of places shut down, but our animals must eat. We had to go in and care for them. That was a big and challenging situation with a lot of unknowns. As we navigated COVID, we learned our animals could get COVID, too. We had to figure out how to prevent them from getting sick and how to treat them. COVID is still here, so we're still monitoring things and following certain protocols. We're lucky that we have an excellent veterinary staff. We always have a few veterinarians there at any given time and they're on-call all the time just in case.
Do you have a favorite species or animal that you've worked with?
I really love fruit bats. I'm also partial to naked mole rats. I've worked with them for 15 years. I really love reptiles, too. Some of the things we've done with Komodo dragons has been really cool, too.
What are some of your proudest accomplishments in which your Penn State education played a role?
Obviously, getting published is a big deal. I'm lucky enough to partner with our science team. Being able to go to conferences with other animal care professionals, share ideas, and learn new tactics on animal care is great. We also do sea turtle work to help protect their populations. Florida is one of the biggest spots for sea turtle nesting. I'm also proud of the impact we have on our guests. A lot of people are afraid of certain animals, like bats, for example. It's great to see them change their minds and learn about how important they are within an ecosystem. I enjoy seeing their respect for the various species increase.
What has been the best advice you’ve ever received?
When I first moved to Florida, I had a gentleman basically say, "If you're a hard worker and willing to learn, that's 90 percent of the job, and the other 10 percent can be taught." If you’re willing to learn, do the work, and be patient, everything will fall into place. Having baseline knowledge, like what I got at Penn State, allowed me to come into this career with enough background knowledge to care for a variety of species and grow from there.
What advice or professional development tips would you give to a current student?
Try to put yourself out there and network. In my industry, everyone knows people at the different facilities. Every day is a job interview. If we're hiring for a position, we'll ask if anyone knows someone at another facility. Someone's always watching.
Why are you proud to be a Penn State Ag Sciences alum?
It opened a lot of doors for me and has allowed me to be in this career. I didn't realize it at the time, but a lot of things I learned at Penn State allowed me to flourish in my career, for example, how important it is to conduct a research study that has proper data analysis methods, the ability to be replicated by other people and how important it is to always try to find a better way. We toured a facility that was doing canine nutrition research, and we got to see these principles in action. This showed how this company was always trying to improve its product to ensure that the animals that were eating it were getting the highest quality ingredients that they were able to metabolize and utilize most efficiently. This reinforced the idea that by taking care of living animals, you should never be satisfied with the status quo and instead be focused on doing everything possible to enhance the lives of the animals that we are taking care of.
Associate Director of Alumni Relations
Development and Alumni Relations
Address
240 Agricultural Administration BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email AgAlumni@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-1373
Associate Director of Alumni Relations
Development and Alumni Relations
Address
240 Agricultural Administration BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email AgAlumni@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-1373