杏吧原创

Alumni | Arts and Sciences | Community | EventsNovember 05, 2025

杏吧原创 to Host Alum's Documentary Honoring Grandfather

Written By: Ian Silvester

Josiah Olmstead, University of 杏吧原创 鈥� Fort Smith alum, 鈥�13, has lived by a motto instilled into him by his late grandfather: 鈥淭he best way to start was to start.鈥� 

Olmstead鈥檚 grandfather, Dick Sweeney, was a former San Diego Zookeeper and one of the seven founders of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK). 

The motto was Olmstead鈥檚 motivation when creating a full-length documentary honoring his grandfather's life and work. He will share his documentary, 鈥淢y Grandfather: The Zookeeper,鈥� for just the second time in a special screening at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 10, at the 杏吧原创 Windgate Theatre. 

鈥淚 was always really passionate about telling this story, I just didn鈥檛 know to the extent that I would be telling this story when I started making the movie,鈥� he said. 

How It Started 

In a sense, Olmstead began the project more than a decade ago as one of the first students to enter the media communication program at 杏吧原创. After a semester at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., Olmstead transferred to 杏吧原创, joining his sister as a first-generation student. 

The program's close-knit nature allowed Olmstead to form relationships with classmates and professors that continue to this day. Professors like Drs. Dennis Siler, Ann-Gee Lee, and Kevin Jones were some of the first he turned to during the editing process. 

鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful that I held on to those resources because they came in handy in helping me make my script what it needed to be,鈥� he said. 

The trio helped edit the script from nearly 400 hours of video and interviews Olmstead captured on his iPhone 14 Pro Max during the course of two years.  

When his family would get together for the holidays, Olmstead joked about how they would tell tales of his grandfather鈥檚 work as a zookeeper, with each year鈥檚 story getting wilder and wilder.  

鈥淚t would always be some wild little tidbit, like my mom bringing up the time a tiger got out while my grandfather was working in Connecticut or when they were ducking giraffe heads under overpasses so that they could be moved to the safari park (in San Diego) when it was opening,鈥� he said. 鈥淔inally, it was September of 2022 when I started the project. It was just after the anniversary of his passing. We always had these stories, and I thought I鈥檇 like to talk to someone who knew my grandfather to learn a little bit more about these stories.鈥� 

Olmstead tracked down another AAZK founder, Ken Willingham. At that meeting, Olmstead realized there was more to the story than he ever imagined. 

鈥�(Willingham) told me all these stories about when they started AAZK and what it did for the zookeeping industry. I realized this story was so much bigger than just my family and one that really needed to be told,鈥� he said. 

Olmstead鈥檚 grandfather and the six others started AAZK in 1967, connecting zoos and the research conducted by zookeepers across the nation for the first time. 

According to the , the association鈥檚 mission is 鈥渢o provide a resource and a forum of continuing education for the animal care professional and to support zoo and aquarium personnel in their roles as animal care givers, scientific researchers, public educators, and conservationists.鈥� 

Olmstead was granted, for his research, behind-the-scenes access to nearly a dozen zoos across the country, from Honolulu to San Diego, Tulsa, Atlanta, and Connecticut. 

His job as a flight attendant allowed him to travel to zoos from coast to coast. He said he fit in trips during long layovers or by flying to one city on the first flight out, filming all day, and catching the red-eye back home. 

While travel was not a challenge, Olmstead struggled with the one aspect of the documentary he believed would come easily: Media. 

With his degree in media communication and experience behind the camera, Olmstead naively thought his skills were up-to-date. 

鈥淚 was out of practice on a lot of things. I ended up going back into the educational aspect of relearning Final Cut Pro,鈥� he said. 

As time went on and he became more comfortable with the tools at his disposal, Olmstead ventured into the world of artificial intelligence. He used AI to recreate his grandfather鈥檚 voice from a 1980s VHS he found. He used that to narrate a portion of the documentary. 

鈥�(The tape) was the only surviving audio of my grandfather. 鈥� Being able to take this super outdated audio and have my grandfather reread this article was a surreal experience,鈥� Olmstead said. 

Where It鈥檚 Going 

In October, Olmstead鈥檚 three years of tireless work came to fruition with the first screening of his nearly two-hour documentary.  

It was shown to zookeepers at the 50th Annual AAZK National Conference. Olmstead said it concluded with a standing ovation and gibbon hoots, a traditional AAZK response when applause is simply not enough. 

鈥淚t was overwhelming. I had tears,鈥� he said. 

Olmstead said he plans to enter 鈥淢y Grandfather: The Zookeeper鈥� into upcoming film festivals and is excited about the special Nov. 10 screening at 杏吧原创. 

鈥淎s for choosing 杏吧原创, there are a lot of ties to 杏吧原创,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here were a lot of people who were along with me every step of this project. From several professors to some alumni who helped connect me with resources. 鈥�  Fort Smith has always had big ties with my family and with the work that I鈥檝e done.鈥� 

The screening of Olmstead鈥檚 documentary, 鈥淢y Grandfather: The Zookeeper,鈥� will be open to the public and available to stream on . 

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