Meet This Week's Whiz Kid: 'Hardy' Kern

Edward "Hardy" Kern III is a senior at Peters Township High School.

Since he was a small boy, he has had a love of animals, and has combined that love with the ability to work with them. He's set the stage for a career where he will be able to consistently keep himself in touch with their kingdom.

He has job-shadowed in the San Diego Zoo Panda Program, and worked at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium for three years. He has studied and worked with The Wild World of Animals in animal handling, husbandry and conservation training, and has worked with nearly every type of animal, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects and arthropods.  

He rescued and raised a one-month-old black bear for three weeks, which was later passed on to the Maryland State Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and later released into the wild.

His love for animals and his growing education has allowed him to work with such notables as Jack Hanna, the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo; Ron Magill, of the Miami MetroZoo; David Salmoni, host of Animal Planet’s “Into the Pride”; David Mizejewski, director of the National Wildlife Federation; and Jarod Miller, host and lecturer of “Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller.”

Kern has been seen with animals such as African lion cubs, pythons, lizards and others on the “CBS Early Show." Also, with black bear cubs and a Peregrine Falcon on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” an American alligator, Nile crocodile, mountain lion, hawk and reticulated python on “The Rachel Ray Show,” as well as on Peters Township TV.

In addition to his work with animals, Kern maintains a 4.2 GPA at Peters Township High School, where he attends 10 honors classes and six AP classes. He has been Student of the Month and has made the honor roll every semester. For theater in 2007, he was selected “Most Promising Freshman,” and was “National Character Counts Student Ambassador” in 2010.

In the community, Kern was appointed to the Peters Township Environmental Quality Board in 2010, becoming the youngest person ever to serve on a municipal board.

We sat down with Kern and asked him a few questions.

Patch: When did you know that you had a special attraction for animals?

Kern: My family tells me it was before I could even talk. My grandpa used to take me to an old neighbor of ours who had a pet pot-bellied pig, and I loved it. But I think the first real connection with animals came when I was about six, and attended a camp at the Pittsburgh Zoo. We got to go back to an area where the keepers work, and where the giraffes go at night. There was this one giraffe whose name was “Nifty,” and we were told if we wanted to we could feed him a treat. These were literally giraffe-sized milk bones. Nobody wanted to hold the treat up because they were afraid, except me, and I remember this gigantic giraffe coming down 17 feet to take this treat out of my hand. I got to pet him on the nose. It was the first big encounter with an animal. It kind of sealed it for me, and now giraffes are my favorite animal.

Patch: Of all the things and people you have met, what especially stands out?

Kern: Just the whole experience of doing the animal shows on TV. Just being the part of getting the animals to the show is part of the process, including loading them up, driving to New York, staying in a hotel overnight with alligators in the bathroom and waking up in the middle of the night to give the lion cubs a bottle. But the person that stands out to me the most is Jack Hanna. He is one of my idols, who I’ve always looked up to. Getting to work with him and being one of his animal handlers was beyond description. He’s one of the most genuine and amazing people I’ve ever met.

Patch: How can we as people communicate with animals?

Kern: The first and most important thing is to observe the animal’s body language, and how they’re acting that day. The best way then is to get to know the animal as an individual. You’ve got to build a trusting relationship with them. It’s like getting to know a person you’ve met for the first time. The more you get to know each other the more they open up to you.

Patch: What do we as humans learn from animals?

Kern: I think that we can learn different things from different animals. The first thing and the biggest one is trust. In the animal world, you’re willing to rely on someone else to feed you or help you to get your food. Some animals are absolutely terrible parents, like kangaroos, but others are absolutely loving to their kids, and they would do anything in the world for them and their families.  Trust in each other is important.

Patch: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Kern: Ideally, I would love to be out in the wild doing conservation work with the polar bears. I had the very unique experience this past October of actually traveling to the Arctic in Churchill, Canada, and observing the polar bears. There were 18 of us from around the world, and a polar bear came up to the side of our research vehicle and I got three feet from her face. She exhaled and I could feel her breath on me, and I just absolutely lit up. I never felt closer to nature than I did then. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done.

We congratulate Kern and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Do you know of an amazing child or teen? Read how to submit your nomination .