Intern impacts
When Delaware Sea Grant (DESG) professionals Kate Fleming and David Christopher came to Rex Schiff’s marine science class to talk about internship opportunities, Schiff had no hesitation in knowing this was something they wanted to do.
Over this past summer, Schiff, a sophomore marine science and environmental studies double major at the University of Delaware, had an internship with DESG, getting experience in a range of areas, including field work and data translation. Throughout the season, Schiff helped conduct surveys, developed a 360 degree online tour of Big Stone Beach, expanded their graphic design skills, and worked on providing outreach and education.
“As far as Rex goes, I was very interested in getting them varied experiences,” said Kate Fleming, former Coastal Ecology Specialist at DESG. “My goal was to expose them as much as possible, get to experience as much as possible, and try to help them figure out what they like, career-wise.”
Schiff said that these varied experiences were important to them as it grew their passion for outreach and allowed them to gain vital work for their possible future career. To gain as much experience as possible, Schiff was always looking for new jobs to take on.
“Rex was a great intern,” said David Christopher, Marine Education Specialist at DESG. “They were always taking on new tasks and willing to learn things. They got a lot of work done over the summer.”
Various times throughout summer, Fleming and Schiff conducted horseshoe crab population surveys, by going down to sites and working with volunteers to collect and compile data. This gave Schiff fieldwork experience, an aspect of the workforce that they had never gotten beforehand, and Schiff was able to create a blog on their experience for the DESG website.
Other field experiences included Schiff helping Fleming with responsible crabbing outreach and education programs, as well as taking photos for the online tour.
Outside of fieldwork, Schiff spent a lot of time helping create educational outreach materials. They made a variety of posters for various programs, created presentations on oceanography for students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, and made presentations for camps.
“I really enjoyed helping with outreach, as that’s an area I’m passionate about,” Schiff said. “David and Kate were great at working with my interests and allowing me to do things related to what I’m passionate about.”
Schiff spoke highly of the workplace and the experience, expressing gratitude for both Christopher and Fleming, as well as the DESG as a whole. The positive feelings Schiff had towards them was mutual, as Christopher and Fleming had nothing but positive things to say about Schiff. Christopher explained how grateful he was for the work Schiff did, believing it will be useful for years to come.
“It’s really nice to know when you’re an intern that your work impacts people after you’re done and I think Rex’s work most definitely will,” Christopher said.
Article by Risha Inaganti