Jennifer Drayna is the director of education at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Dubuque. Home to approximately 3,500 animals of more than 250 species, as well as 22,000 historic objects, the museum’s mission is “to inspire stewardship by creating educational experiences where history and rivers come alive.” Learn about Jennifer Drayna…
Follow at: @rivermuseum
Hometown: Wausau, WI
First job: Organizing records/files at an insurance company
Favorite ways to spend your free time in IA: I enjoy traveling, birding, running and coaching a local swim team. I also volunteer with some regional bird groups that band falcons and monitor their populations to help learn about health of the environment.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Professionally, one of the things I am most proud of is building the outreach program at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. We were able to take it from a few programs a year to one that now teaches more than 100 programs annually across Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Our most popular program is Ocean Odyssey – we bring live sharks and stingrays into libraries and classrooms!
The biggest obstacle you overcame: Making the transition from intern/seasonal employee to full-time took me years. This field is dependent on programming demand and that often means there are many seasonal positions in our field and relatively few full-time jobs available. I gained a lot of experience by taking seasonal jobs at places around the country. These jobs taught me a lot when it comes to different presentation styles, ways to connect with visitors and helped me build to where I am now.
Someone who inspires you and why: Watching people do what they are passionate about! Even if it is something I am not familiar with, the excitement is contagious and makes you want to learn more .
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Take advantage of opportunities and do things that challenge you – that is often where we learn the most!
Favorite quote: “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught.” – Baba Dioum
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: I once trained an ambassador Bald Eagle to voluntarily get eye drops in less than five days!
What makes someone fabulous: Their attitude.