She works with manatees and koi fish and everything else that lives in water at Walt Disney World.
Amanda Dell’Olio bounces from Epcot to Animal Kingdom and occasionally stops by the Magic Kingdom during her time off.
The chemistry major is responsible for analyzing and maintaining the water quality of The Seas with Nemo and Friends, the koi pond in the Japan pavilion, and the aquaculture pools at The Land in Epcot, all of the animal’s enclosures and human interactive systems at Animal Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Shark Reef at Typhoon Lagoon.
“On a daily basis I’ll analyze the water to determine things such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, calcium, magnesium and chlorine levels, alkalinity, and pH,” writes Dell’Olio. “I spend about half my time at Epcot and half at Animal Kingdom and half my time doing field work and half in the lab.”
She adds that it’s amazing to see all of the animals and do chemistry in such a unique place. She also points out the “beautiful Florida weather” is a nice perk — especially during the winter.
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Learn more about co-op in the College of Science.
Amanda Dell’Olio is a chemistry major on co-op at Walt Disney World. Photo courtesy Amanda Dell’Olio.
Amanda Dell’Olio at the manatee pool at the Seas with Nemo and Friends. The grey shape in the bottom left of this picture is Lou, one of the two manatees with whom she works. Photo courtesy Amanda Dell’Olio.
