Congratulations to our 10 summer interns!!!

Congratulations to our 10 summer high school interns! It was a difficult decision this year as we had so many wonderful and impressive students that went through the 4 training classes this past spring. Based on participation, attitude, homework, animal presentations, second interviews, interaction with other students, and more, we have 10 students representing 5 different schools this year, including Academic Magnet HS, Aiken HS, Garrett Academy of Technology, Hanahan HS and Stratford HS.

On May 19th we had our first orientation class and started out the morning with some team building and problem solving out at Seabrook Island at Camp St. Christopher. Some of the students met for the first time as they were in 2 different classes throughout the spring. This was a great opportunity for them to get to know one another better and work together in an outdoor setting and I think everyone had a lot of FUN! Our last training class for the summer will be June 9th and we can't wait. They will be trained on interpretation, reptile handling, the shark and sea turtle carts, customer service and logisitics for every day as a summer intern. It's going to be an amazing summer!

 TP shuffle...

 MOUSE TRAP MINE FIELD!

A lot of them "lost" a foot during Alligator Alley, but eventually made it!

Here are the interns below and where they go to school!

Alex Schaefer - Stratford HS

April Parnell - South Aiken High School  

Carles' Anderson - Garrett Academy

Destin Allen - Stratford HS

Emoni Saulsberry - Garrett Academy of Technology

Jassmine Baghdady - Hanahan HS

Kyri Cortte - Stratford HS

Shelby Holt - Stratford HS

Summer Cumbee - Academic Magnet

 

Tyler Singleton - Academic Magnet HS

April 21st and 28th

Our last training class occured less than a week ago and we already interviewing for the ten positions available for the summer! The students presented their animals the morning of each class showing their interpretation skills and what they had learned. They presented on animals that can be found in the aquarium, which are all native to South Carolina. Next, we went over interview skills and held some practice interviews to prepare for their upcoming second interviews! Afterwards, we traveled to one of the most important habitats: the salt marsh.

A big shout-out to Group A  for sticking out rain for an hour and a half! We ALL got drenched in the rain, but were able to actually catch a lot of crabs at the Old Pitt Street Bridge. The students learned the difference between male and female blue crabs and how big the crab must be in order to take it home. We released them all of course!

It was another new experience for a lot of the intern trainees and we were able to see a great deal of wildlife, including crabs, oystercatchers, great blue herons, great egrets, brown pelicans, snowy egrets, red-breasted mergansers, banded tulip snail, and SO many laughing gulls. The second class had beautiful sunny weather and we were able to catch a few crabs as well.

Back at the aquarium, it was post-test time to see how much everyone had learned and then so long until their second interviews. Stay tuned to find out which ten students make it into the summer internship!!!
-eduKATE and Drew

March 17th and 24th Training Classes

The March classes were SO much fun! Both classes went canoeing at Francis Beidler Forest at the Audubon Center and for most of the students, it was a new experience. Back at the aquarium, they learned about interpretation and prepared for interpretive animal presentations for the coming April class.

After reading about blackwater swamps in their training manual, they were able to experience being in a swamp and exploring the habitat in one of only TWO old growth forests left in South Carolina. We saw alligators, yellow-bellied sliders, snakes, lots of SPIDERS, birds, a toad and butterfiles. The weather was perfect for both trips - sunny and warm! We are fortunate to continue heading back to the Audubon Center for this trip every year and no one fell, which is always a plus!

Group A: Drew, Alex, Kyri, Shelby, April, Tyler S, Summer, Kate and Renee

Group B: Emoni, Destin, Caty, Drew, Kate, Jassmine, Tyler, Carles', Kedra, Daniqua, Jazzmine, Gerv and Ebonia'

February Class!!!

So it's been very busy here at the South Carolina Aquarium so I'm going to try and catch everyone up on how the training classes went since we are already having the second round of interviews and will pick the 10 interns for the summer program!

February was a pretty amazing class as we were able to get all of the interns out on the Spirit of South Carolina! The students got to hoist sails, learn how to navigate and use charts, collect and analyze plankton and learn about waves and tides. They also learned how to create cover letters and resumes! It was a FREEZING cold day out on Charleston Harbor but everyone had a blast!

March class up next...
-eduKATE :)