Cheryl Resnik
Docent Volunteer

IN MID-2024, PROFESSOR EMERITUS CHERYL RESNIK DPT ’97 retired from USC after 30 years. During her three decades at USC, she served as the Division’s associate chair and led community outreach efforts through her work with USC Fit Families. She was also lauded with a number of awards — from a Division Commendation for Excellence in Teaching to the Royce P. Noland Award of Merit (CPTA) to the Catherine Worthingham Fellowship (APTA). Not one to rest on her laurels, Resnik has already delved headlong into her next chapter, serving as a docent volunteer for the Los Angeles Zoo. We caught up with the former Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy to find out how life is working at the zoo.

Why was it important to you to continue working or having some type of responsibility after having retired from USC?
I can’t imagine not making some sort of contribution to the community. I’ve worked since I was 15 years old and done volunteer work for more than 50 years. Some habits are too hard to change!

What was it about becoming a docent volunteer that appealed to you?
This service opportunity enables me to engage in supporting a healthy environment through public education. One of our main tasks as zoo docents is to teach about the important role we all play in conservation. Many of the animals in the zoo are endangered, and talking about how actions we take can help save them is easier when the threatened species is right in front of you. Saving our environment is long-held value for me, and being a docent allows me to take an active role in conservation. Besides, being outdoors, walking the hills of Griffith Park and hanging with the animals is great therapy!

How often do you volunteer, and what’s a typical day like?
I’m at the zoo twice every week for my regular duties. On Mondays, I do food prep for all the birds in the bird show, and on Wednesdays, I either tour school groups or act as an ambassador where I get to hang out in front of my favorite animals and engage with the public. I’m also part of a project called SNO, Special Needs Outreach. Twice each month, I visit either a school or a facility that has a population that cannot come to the zoo. We have a car stuffed with bones, teeth, pelts and pictures we use to talk about the zoo’s animals. It’s really fun, and everyone loves to handle the biofacts, even the rhino poop!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned or experienced after having become a docent volunteer?
I’ve been really impressed with the knowledge about the natural world that really young kids have. I’ve had second graders, and even much younger children, share facts about the animals that’s 100 percent correct. TV shows aimed at children have come a long way since I was young!

What do you miss most about USC so far in your retirement?
The people. Retirement has forced me to be an activist for getting together with my former colleagues on a regular basis.

What other ways do you try to fill your time or stay engaged in an intellectual way?
I’m still volunteering with the California Physical Therapy Association, where I serve as the chair of the Ethics Committee. I’m also in training to become a pollinator steward, which is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems. I’ve been raising monarch butterflies for a number of years, and this course will help me get this important work out to a broader audience.