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. 

2020 Ocean Academy Intern Interviews Part 4

Welcome back! 

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

Photo credit: Samia Sarkis.

K’ari Bean, 19, is currently pursuing her associate of science degree at Bermuda College and has aspirations to study marine science in the future. She is a first year Ocean Academy intern working with Samia Sarkis, director of research and development for the Living Reefs Foundation and BIOS adjunct faculty, to assess ideal environmental conditions for coral larvae growth.

What has your BIOS internship been like so far?

It is really hands on! It’s been a good way to see what I would get to experience in this field, as I want to study marine biology. It’s also been an eye-opening experience. I’ve always wanted to be a marine biologist because I like the water, but seeing what marine biologists do on a daily basis has been valuable.

Has anything impressed you while you have been at BIOS?

How quickly science happens. I am doing coral research and seeing the larvae growing into spat happens so quickly. It is interesting, because when you see a fully-grown coral you don’t realize where it started and how rapidly it grew and divided.

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

Eye-opening, informative, really interactive. 

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

Diving on the coral gardens my supervisor Samia set up at Rosewood Tucker’s Point [the Living Reef Foundation’s tourism partner] and seeing how she has implemented the Coral Garden Initiative there. In lots of other marine science internships, you learn by watching but in this one you are the scientist.