I absolutely loved the internship, I loved the area and just every aspect of the program

One of the things I appreciated most was the variety of learning styles Alice incorporated in the teaching. There was a combination of Visual, Kinesthetic, writing and reading. I am someone who learns Kinesthetically and lots of the things we did with Alice such as diving for the purpose of pointing out subjects we learned

One of the things I appreciated most was the variety of learning styles Alice incorporated in the teaching. There was a combination of Visual, Kinesthetic, writing and reading. I am someone who learns Kinesthetically and lots of the things we did with Alice such as diving for the purpose of pointing out subjects we learned, or collecting samples and observing through microscopes was super helpful for my progress throughout the internship. One other helpful aspect was the manuscripts, this really opened my eyes to the reality of Marine Biology, that it isn’t going to be all hands on, there is research involved and an order for that research.

I would recommend this internship for those already having decided the route of Marine Biology. Either having declared it their major or have a resolute decision of pursuing Marine Biology further. The way the program is structured, if the interns are already advanced then it might seem a repetitive for them. For example: Alice began with the principles of Marine Biology, taxonomy, naming, identification and from there the courses got more rigorous, which was very helpful for one student with us who had no previous knowledge of Marine biology. I was slightly more advanced and had gone through many of these classes beforehand but I still enjoyed the refresher as it had been a while. One other student with us was working towards her master thesis and therefore felt that these classes were redundant for her, though she enjoyed the dives. In one group we had a beginner, intermediate and advanced, so I know it must have been hard for Alice to try and cater to all of us who were at different levels.

The project crew were great teachers and really helped me as a beginner in diving get accustomed to this new environment. I was super comfortable with all their gear and even ended up buying some of my own later on. The dives had to be my favorite part of it all. Some tips for interns who are already divers: if you are certified with SSI or a different divers organization you must get recertified with PADI. This was something I didn’t know coming in.

Another general tip is to expect a classroom setting. I think my expectations of the program was going to be more like a job rather than a teacher student, but I was totally fine with that.

I absolutely loved the internship, I loved the area and just every aspect of the program. I know that every intern coming on to the program will not be disappointed.