Author: Jillian Daly, NC Coastal Reserve Communications Specialist
Haley Jenkins, Northern Sites Intern
Haley is a senior at NC State University studying sustainable materials and technology with a minor in Spanish literature and business administration. She is passionate about the environment and enjoyed this internship and the opportunity to work with people who share similar values.
What has been your favorite part of your internship?
“My favorite experience was touring the Coastal Studies Institute and meeting the other interns within the agency. It gave me insight into other potential facilities I could work in.”
What skills and opportunities have you gained from this internship?
“Through this internship I was able to get my boating certificate, utilize GIS systems, identify native plant species, network within my field, and consistently measure water quality parameters.”
What does a typical day look like during your internship?
“During my internship, I’d usually start the morning doing telework or taking water quality samples for the first half of the day. The second half of the depended on the weather and what it allowed. Sometimes I could do trail maintenance, boat training, work on signage, or telework again analyzing results.”
Ashley Getz, Southern Sites Intern
Ashley is a senior at UNCW majoring in Biology with a concentration in Conservation. She previously a music teacher and hopes to use her teaching background in order to help educate and work with the public in a future biology career. She’s always loved nature and is excited to share her passion with others. While working with the NCNERR, she learned more about the estuary and coastline, as well as hands-on skills in the field. Ashley confirmed that this internship has strengthened her desire to be a wildlife conservationist!
What was your most memorable experience this summer?
“I think my most memorable experience was our "turtliest" day this summer! It was a day that we had a TON of nests and false crawls. We missed one turtle by about an hour, which was really exciting. We also found our first green sea turtle nest of the season, and we also found a diamondback terrapin that was actively nesting as well!
To add to this, another day this summer was very memorable when we had to relocate a nest to a more successful location. It was extremely tedious and very exciting to be holding a bucket containing all the little eggs in the nest! We really had to channel our inner turtles to relocate this nest and dig out a new one!”
What does a typical day look like during your internship?
“Honestly, it changes every day! But it generally consists of getting to the office really early, around 6:30 or 7:00 AM, then getting ready for field work, which is my favorite part of the internship! We head out to Masonboro Island either to walk the island looking for turtle nests, do some surveys, or do any other activities that we want to accomplish that day!”
Would you recommend this internship to others?
“I would absolutely recommend this internship to others. It takes a lot sometimes and its not for the faint-hearted, but if someone is into field work and willing to get absolutely disgusting while doing it, there is so much great experience to be gained from this internship!”
Do you have any advice for future interns?
“My only advice is to come prepared. Mentally. And with a positive attitude. Like I said, it's really not for the faint-hearted. As long as you know what you are getting yourself into, and you come with a good attitude, you will have a great time and learn a lot! And ALWAYS bring extra water!!!”
Aaron Wilson, Southern Sites Intern
Aaron Wilson is a rising senior at UNCW. He interned with the Reserve this summer in the Southern Sites office. He is an Environmental Science major with a minor in Geospatial Technology and enjoys backpacking, kayaking, fishing, and going to the gym when he is not in the field. This summer, he enjoyed learning new data collection and sampling methods and looks forward to applying what he has learned through this internship to future research projects of his own.
What opportunities/skills have you gained from this internship?
Through this internship, my sea turtle biology, estuarine ecology, data collection, and networking capabilities were significantly improved upon. Spending time in the field whether that was sea turtle monitoring, water quality sampling, or fisheries surveys helped improve my confidence and knowledge base that I can apply to future jobs, academics, and research. I was also given extensive opportunities to network with UNCW Center for Marine Science faculty, which I valued greatly and heavily influenced my academic goals and connections.
Do you have any advice for future interns?
Don’t be afraid to take initiative, step out of your comfort zone, and ask a lot of questions and take advantage of connections available through the internship and doing so while consciously thinking about how you’re contributing to science on a daily basis helped me visualize my impact throughout the internship which made me want to contribute more at all times. So basically being forward thinking and open to stepping out of your comfort zone will help with navigating and succeeding during your internship.