06 ALUMNI
ron magill
WILDLIFE EXPERT AND PHOTOGRAPHER
ron magill
While many people’s jobs entail sitting at a desk all day, Miami Palmetto Senior High alumni and current Director of Communications for Zoo Miami Ron Magill spends time traveling the world photographing animals, spreading important messages regarding conservation and directly involving himself in conservation projects. Born and raised in New York City in 1960 to a Cuban-immigrant father and American mother, Magill moved to Miami when he was only 12 years old to fulfill his father’s dream of owning a piece of property similar to what he left in Cuba. In Miami, Magill lived on a five-acre plot of land in the Redlands, surrounded by animals like possums, hawks, eagles and bobcats, which sparked his interest in animals. “My father missed having a ranch with mango trees and avocado trees. He loved that lifestyle that he had in Cuba,” Magill said. As a boy, he remembers idolizing Jim Fowler, the host of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” which he would watch every night at 7:30. “And like I always tell people, [that] was church for me,” Magill said.
At the time, attending Palmetto was difficult for Magill and his parents, who had to drive 14 miles every day to get him to school on time. “We had to leave the house no later than quarter after six every morning, which means we’re waking up at five,” Magill said. “It was a hassle. My parents made a lot of sacrifices to get me to go to Palmetto.” Magill flourished academically and even went so far as to skip a grade. “Because I had done very well in school, I qualified for an honors chemistry class. At that time, there were no honors classes offered at South Dade,” Magill said. Magill’s mother then appealed to the Superintendent of Miami Dade Schools, who signed a waiver allowing him to attend Palmetto. Despite his success, Magill faced many challenges growing up. At school, he was often teased by other students because of his height— 6 feet 6 inches —and his age. “I was very tall early in my life. I was gangly; I was uncoordinated. [My peers] called me everything from ‘Lerch’ to ‘Frankenstein,’” Magill said. However, things looked up for Magill when his height caught the attention of his
high school basketball coach. “When I was walking the halls the basketball coach saw me walking… and says, ‘you’re going to try out for basketball,’” Magill said. Magill struggled at tryouts, but his coach was determined to help him become a better player. “He worked very hard to get his coordination to where he could play the game the way he wanted to,” Magill’s high school basketball coach, Jay Bouton, said. “He was willing to do everything that was asked of him to try and improve.” By his senior year he was an honorable mention all-city player, which led to him becoming a basketball star at Palmetto. “We’ve remained friends ever since,” Bouton said. After high school, Magill attended the University of Florida, but he left to pursue a job as a zookeeper at the Crandon Park. “My senior year I didn’t finish [at UF] because I was offered a job to work as a zookeeper of the old Crandon Park Zoo before [the new Zoo Miami] was built,” Magill said.
