SCCF welcomes new interns
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation recently welcomed a couple of new interns.
Sabrina Sorace is a rising senior at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. This summer, she is interning with the sea turtle nighttime tagging program from May 1 through Aug. 1. Sorace has helped tag more than 80 new turtles nesting on Sanibel.
“Along with the numerous nesting turtles I have seen on patrol, being awake all night allowed me to see shooting stars, dolphins hunting along the shoreline, and even a juvenile alligator in the waves,” she said.
After the internship, Sorace plans to finish her bachelor’s degree and “use the skills I have gained through this internship to pursue a career in sea turtle conservation.”
Joseph Young is in his third year at Colorado State University, where he is double majoring in chemistry and biochemistry. He will be a Marine Lab intern from May 17 through Aug. 8.
“I have been fascinated by science from a young age,” Young, who was inspired by his father — a forest service hydrologist and geology hobbyist — said.
“I was instantly hooked on the expansiveness of the field,” he said of taking an entry-level chemistry class in high school. “It seemed to offer more and more as I looked into career paths.”
Young reported that he was surprised by the “many moving parts” that are “involved with running a lab and planning for fieldwork.”
“Fieldwork has been my favorite part of my internship, whether it’s collecting water samples, counting oyster settlement, taking seagrass population surveys, or marking and counting sea turtle nests. It has been a fun experience,” he said, adding that the internship “has reinforced my decision to continue my work in getting my biochemistry degree.”