Lloyd Center Summer Interns
Every summer, the Lloyd Center offers internships to students pursuing careers in either environmental education and / or research. Our education interns assists the education staff in teaching hands-on science programs and maintaining the Center’s many live exhibits, while our research interns conduct Lepidoptera Inventories, and assist with Piping Plover protection and monitoring.
Mid-way through the summer, the interns are asked to report on their experiences at the Lloyd Center to help shape future internship programs. With such overwhelming reports, we thought you would enjoy reading about some of their experiences.
Education Intern Margaret Ferrari: “A college student’s ideal internship may not be 40 hours a week all summer. Yet, working with undoubtedly the most intelligent and compassionate people in this field, interning at the Lloyd Center has been nothing short of incredible. The drive and commitment for education, research and outreach the staff displays is infectious. The difference in mindsets, ranging from 4 to 50 years old, is cultivating. Throughout the summer, I’ve collaborated, prepared, and executed lesson plans for the children’s summer programs. The tools I have gained here will transfer over into my field of study, engineering, with ease. After only 8 short weeks at the Center, I am privileged to call it home.”
Education Intern Jill Corcoran: “The Lloyd Center has always been a part of my life. I loved coming to the summer programs when I was younger and my experience as an intern has been just as awesome. It is definitely a ton of work, but I always come home feeling just as happy and excited as I am exhausted. Everyone is so much fun to work with, and the experience of working and teaching in such a location is amazing.”
Research Intern Sandra Araujo: “The Lloyd Center has provided me with so many great and memorable experiences this summer. I have truly gained multiple levels of wisdom from everyone on the team that I cannot say thank you enough! All the departments work as a whole towards the goal of providing the best services and education to the surrounding area and beyond. My goals coming in were to gain experience in field biology work in order to add to my resume and I can undoubtedly say that I will be leaving with so much more than that. Entering into my last year at UMD, I will finish with even more confidence because of the skills and knowledge that my Piping Plover internship at the Lloyd Center has provided me.”
Research Intern Katherine Ferrari: “The Lloyd Center has provided me with an opportunity that has undoubtedly furthered my interest and solidified my current scientific career path. As a research intern I feel nothing but welcomed by the small, yet hard working staff. Their eagerness to not only teach but listen allows me to apply skills learned in the classroom and in the laboratory regarding both biology and chemistry. The variety of assigned projects and duties has given me a diverse understanding of what it takes to be a field scientist, and has helped me appreciate all the Lloyd Center does for local research and education.”
Research Intern Kevin Keegan: “This summer marks my return to the Lloyd Center as a research intern, and as such the nuances of newness are lost on me. That being said, I spent the past year working as a botanist in Nevada and have much enjoyed getting back into the eastern woods and meadows through my work at the Center. I’ve primarily been performing daytime butterfly surveys at locations within Dartmouth, and nighttime moth surveys at locations around Cape Ann north of Boston. Studying butterflies is new to me – I didn’t get to do it two years ago when I was last at the Center, and have loved the chance to study the other half, so to speak, of Lepidoptera. In studying butterflies I’ve also been able to hone my botanical skills in identifying their nectar sources which has been a delight. And, of course, the meandering and endless searching of the encyclopedia of the natural world that is Mark Mello is a treasure that I do not take for granted. It is good to be back.”
Photo of Interns in Clambake Attire (left to right): Andrew Farland, Sandra Araujo, Kevin Keegan, Margaret Ferrari, Jillian Corcoran, Katherine Ferrari
