Intern Reflections 2024: Why Choose GMRI?
Tidings | Aug 22, 2024
Our summer intern season is wrapping up for 2024, and so we decided to catch up with some of our departing interns to learn what they loved about their time at GMRI. Read on for more.
Each year, we welcome a range of student interns to GMRI. We have seasonal interns, such as those who join us from across the country for our Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, the Inclusive NOAA Fisheries Internship Program (IN FISH), and our aquaculture innovation interns in the summer. We also enjoy a rotating cast of science communication and multimedia interns year round. Whatever internship program students join, we provide these budding scientists and communicators with hands-on experiences and world class mentoring at a prime location on Portland’s working waterfront. Our scientists guide students as they come up with their own research questions, design experiments, and reach scientific conclusions. Our communications team trains students looking to become more effective science communicators, and other programs throughout GMRI develop tailored internship programs based on program needs — such as our new Aquaculture Innovation Summer Internship. In addition to getting the opportunity to conduct field work in the Gulf of Maine, students learn skills that will help them secure careers in their desired fields and be active, contributing members to their communities.
Becoming an intern at GMRI is unlike most internship opportunities you might find in similar fields. If you become an intern at GMRI, you won’t operate in a silo, and you won’t be limited to only doing what’s listed in your internship description. You’ll have the opportunity to network with world-class researchers and climate experts, education leaders, innovators, expert communicators, and other young interns. The camaraderie that emerges between interns on different paths and career journeys is part of what REU student Molly Murphey, who traveled from California to join us, enjoyed so much about her time this summer.
From California to Maine
This year I applied to a select list of REU sites that were conducting interdisciplinary research on environmental issues. As a student of environmental science and policy, GMRI’s trans-disciplinary approach to coastal and fisheries sciences interested me. When I first met program director Dr. Graham Sherwood and my mentor Dr. Kanae Tokunaga in a Zoom interview, we spoke about engaging historically marginalized groups in collaborative research and integrating the social and natural sciences to solve complex environmental problems. After ending the call, I knew that GMRI would be my first choice if given the opportunity. Luckily, I was.
Growing up in coastal Northern California, I have always been fascinated by marine environments. My West Coast upbringing also made moving to Maine an exciting and intimidating step. When I first arrived in Portland and saw the water on all sides, I knew that I would find my place. My place turned out to be on Casco Bay helping conduct species surveys for the CBASS program, walking along Mill Brook collecting eDNA, and at fishery management council meetings. At GMRI, interns in all labs can participate in fieldwork and public engagement, developing essential skills for this generation of engaged researchers.
Another thing that made GMRI’s REU stand out was the opportunity to design and carry out an independent research project. This was a challenging and rewarding exercise. My research project, which involved analyzing public comments on offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Maine, allowed me to work closely with Dr. Tokunaga and the Offshore Wind team at GMRI and connect with offshore wind researchers throughout Maine and beyond.
An REU offers participants the experience of working with a cohort of student researchers. My cohort was extraordinarily diverse, with research projects in population modeling, marine ecology, science education, and physical oceanography. Discussing our research progress over lunch and providing moral support to one another was a big part of the experience. I’m happy to say that I’m leaving this program with lifelong friends with whom I’m excited to work in my future career.
The REU program is transformative for the interns who pass through it, but it's also meaningful to Dr. Graham Sherwood, the head of our Fisheries Ecology Lab, who leads the REU effort for GMRI.
"A highlight of my career here at GMRI has been having the privilege to lead our REU internship program. Each year, our REU students give me hope for the future and impress me with their voracity for learning and knack for problem-solving.
Graham Sherwood, Ph.D. Senior Scientist
For Chima Amaechi, an IN FISH intern joining us to research energetics for Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine, the learning environment here was welcoming, and the collective excitement about science was inspiring. One of the most memorable moments for Chima took place on the cool waters in the Gulf of Maine aboard our research vessel the Merlin.
"I will always remember the shark tagging trips that I went on with my mentor Dr. Walt Golet. Catching, tagging, and releasing blue-sharks was something I would never have had access to back home.
Chima Amaechi 2024 IN FISH Intern
Fortunately for GMRI interns, they don’t need to be studying highly migratory species like Atlantic bluefin tuna to have a chance to join our researchers at sea. Our staff make it a point to include as many interns as possible in these trips to the field, whether it’s using our beach seine to collect data for our Casco Bay Aquatic Systems Survey (CBASS) project, tagging sharks and tuna, or collecting eDNA samples for processing back in our molecular lab.
Charlie Neill joined us this year as our first Aquaculture Innovations Summer Intern. Charlie was tasked with documenting innovations on aquaculture farms to populate the Innovations page on our online aquaculture resource called The Maine Aquaculturist with articles about creative, new, and/or exciting ideas being used on aquaculture farms. To do this, he visited a range of oyster, kelp, scallop, and other sea farms to interview growers and observe how their farms operated. While at GMRI, Charlie was impressed with our organization's dedication to developing collaborative solutions.
"I constantly saw how GMRI relies on the voices of oyster growers, lobstermen, fishermen, government officials, researchers, and more in order to get a holistic idea of where they can best focus their efforts. I will absolutely take this idea of feedback-driven decision making with me in the next steps in my career.
Charlie Neill 2024 Aquaculture Innovations Summer Intern
Charlie also left his internship this summer with added confidence around his writing communication skills. Writing about niche topics, or complicated science, in ways that anyone can understand is a critically important skill. That’s why we also have a science communication internship specifically dedicated to teaching interns science writing, visual storytelling, and more.
Anna Turner, from the University of Southern Maine joined us last Spring as our first science communication intern. Throughout the course of 10 weeks, she participated in five science communication workshops to hone her writing and storytelling skills, and went through the process of authoring her own blog, called Observing the Ocean. The process involved drafting an outline, reaching out to and interviewing experts to fill in knowledge gaps, writing and publishing the article, and drafting language for sharing it on our social channels. As an English major, she was excited to learn how science writing differs from other kinds of writing.
"I really enjoyed learning about how the communications team thinks about writing. As an English major I am used to writing papers, but the idea of writing for an audience where you have to win their readership changed the way I think about writing. I liked the concepts of using the "curiosity gap" or the "problem-solution framework" to tell a story rather than just present information. It was helpful to learn new ways of making my writing more engaging.
Anna Turner 2024 Science Communication Intern
At GMRI, internships provide students with transformative experiences that equip them with the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to thrive in their future careers. Whether conducting independent research on marine ecosystems, tagging sharks in the Gulf of Maine, documenting innovative practices in aquaculture, or crafting compelling narratives about scientific discoveries, our interns are deeply immersed in work that matters. In addition, the atmosphere at GMRI provides the interns with a strong sense of community and lifelong friends.
We believe that nurturing the next generation of scientists, communicators, and innovators is essential to addressing the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. We are proud of the diverse opportunities we offer and are excited to continue mentoring the bright young minds who will shape our future.
