2020 Ocean Academy Intern Interviews Part 3

Welcome back!

Here are three more of the 2020 Ocean Academy interns in their own words.

Photo credit: Imogen Peckett.

Brianna Simmons, 19, is a rising sophomore in marine biology at Roger Williams University (U.S.). She was a 2019 Bermuda Program intern and is currently working with Yvonne Sawall, a marine benthic ecologist whose research focuses on coral reefs and seagrass meadows, to determine the resilience of mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) and great star coral (Montastrea cavernosa) to different levels of light, oxygen, photosynthesis, and respiration.

 

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

It’s been good. It has been really helpful to have another intern to work with, and that has made everything much easier. I would like to come back again.

Has anything in particular impressed you while you have been at BIOS?

Using equipment that I'd never used, before such as diving weights [used while diving to counteract the buoyancy of other diving equipment]. It was interesting to have access to this equipment and to see how it worked.

When you think about your internship here, what is a memorable experience that comes to mind?

My project was a long and complicated process, which required me to learn time management. I also had great networking opportunities with other interns and my mentor, which helped provide a stimulating learning environment.

Has your time at BIOS changed your thoughts on what you might want to do in the future?

My first year at BIOS confirmed that I want to do marine biology. This was my second year at BIOS and it has further confirmed that fact.

Photo credit: BIOS.

Nasir Rudolph, 18, is a rising freshman in marine science at the University of Miami (U.S.). He is a first year Ocean Academy intern who is working with Matt Enright, a research specialist who works with BIOS chemical oceanographer Nicholas Bates on multidisciplinary research investigating various aspects of marine biogeochemistry. Nasir's project this year was to troubleshoot the automated infared inorganic carbon analyzer (AIRICA) to measure levels of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) within seawater samples.

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

So far, my BIOS internship has gone really well, it was really fun! I learned the ins-and-outs about having a career in marine science.

Has anything in particular impressed you while you have been at BIOS?

Working with underwater robots was really cool and high-tech.

When you think about your internship here, what is a memorable experience that comes to mind?

When the machine that Matt and I were using stopped working and it took us a while to try and fix it. It really showed me how anything can go wrong in a lab and you need to be able to go with flow and troubleshoot it. Has your time at BIOS changed your thoughts on what you might want to do in the future?

It’s given me valuable experience, which has shown me that I would want a career in marine science in the future.

Photo credit: Ali Hochberg. 

An Mei Daniels, 15, is a rising senior at Warwick Academy (Bermuda). She is a first year Ocean Academy intern who is working with Rachel Parsons, a microbial oceanographer who investigates how microbial communities adapt to changing oxygen levels, to look at the effect of microplastics on the microbiome of Sargassum species to understand the impacts of ocean pollution. Microplastics, or plastic fragments less than 5mm in length, are present in the world's ocean, often floating on the surface. These microplastics can become entangled in Sargassum, resulting in microplastics concentrating within Sargassum floats.

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

It’s been a really new experience for me, since I’m younger and still in high school. This is my first taste of doing high-level work in a professional lab, so it’s been really cool to learn new techniques.

Has anything in particular impressed you while you have been at BIOS?

Everything is new and impressive compared to what I’ve seen before. High schools don’t have the capabilities that BIOS has.

If you could sum up your internship in five words, what would they be?  

New, fascinating, expert, always learning.

When you think about your internship here, what is a memorable experience that comes to mind?

Learning to do these university-level techniques and then seeing them be used for something practical. It's been really interesting to contribute to other interns' experiments or long-running BIOS experiments. 

Has your time at BIOS changed your thoughts on what you might want to do in the future?

This is still me experimenting. I had no idea before and I’m still not sure, but it has solidified my idea that I definitely want to do something in the sciences. 

Thank you for reading about our 2020 Ocean Academy interns. We invite you to stay tuned throughout the coming weeks as we present more individual interviews with each intern.