2020 Ocean Academy Interns Part 7

Welcome back! 

Here are the final four interview with our 2020 Ocean Academy interns.

Thank you for take the time to learn about our interns and their research projects this summer as they navigated the unique challenges presented by COVID-19.

2020 Ocean Academy Intern Interviews Part 6

Welcome back!

Here are interviews with three more of the 2020 Ocean Academy interns:

Photo credit: BIOS

Emma O'Donnell, 21, is a rising senior in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University (U.S.). She was a 2015 Marine Science Internship participant, a 2017 Bermuda Program Intern, and a 2018 Princeton-BIOS Intern. This year, she is working with Tim Noyes, a research specialist focusing on coral reef fisheries and fish populations, to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) and use it to derive data on fish biodiversity. These data will be used for her senior thesis.

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

Productive and successful! I have learned new methods, and using these methods on real-world samples has been really interesting. I’ve also been a bit more independent this year, which I have enjoyed.

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

I’ve always been impressed by the caliber of research that takes place here, as well as the people. You also get a sense of community here which is nice.

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

Productive, supportive, enlightening, broadening, and social.

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

I've worked at BIOS for a long time, starting with volunteering after school when I was quite young. I was surprised in the beginning by how much I liked being able to place the skills I'd learned in a broader context, and then using them to help with conservation in Bermuda. Realizing this fact was a memorable experience. 

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

My experience at BIOS was my reason for choosing my major at university, and everything I do in the future will have an environmental component because of my time at BIOS. I've had great confidence-building experiences over the years.

2020 Ocean Academy Intern Interviews Part 5

 Welcome back! 

Here are interviews with three more of the 2020 Ocean Academy interns: 

Photo credit: Imogen Peckett.

Caroline Alexander, 20, is a rising third year undergraduate in geography at the University of Bristol (England). She is a first year Ocean Academy intern who is working with Shane Antonition, a former Bermuda Program intern who completed his masters dissertation on microplastics, to observe the microplastics on Bermuda's beaches. Microplastics, generally defined as plastic fragments 5mm or less in length, often result from the breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste and are a significant source of plastic waste on Bermuda's beaches. She hopes to use this internship as a source of research for her third year research dissertation. 

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

It’s been really good. We’ve collected samples from a few beaches and separated them by density. Then we've used size-fractionation [a separation process where a mixture is divided into smaller quantities that have different compositions] to sort the microplastics by size. 

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

The views on the campus that I see while eating lunch are beautiful! I drive over the Causeway every day, and I get really excited to come to work when looking over at BIOS. I'm also impressed by how welcoming BIOS has been, even from the beginning. I usually feel nervous doing interviews, but when being recruited for this I wasn't scared at all.

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

Toward the end of my school year I found out I was doing this internship and it changed how I thought about my future. I already knew I wanted to do something with the environment, but I wanted to participate in this internship to see whether the practical side of science is something I'm interested in.