Dive Into Your Imagination

First, I would like to introduce myself. I am a 23-year-old California girl, and a self-proclaimed, completely devoted, can’t-live-without-my-cat, always covered in pet hair, animal lover. My entire life has revolved around animals, and it is my dream to turn this into a career. My favorite animal is the dolphin, and ever since I saw “The Little Mermaid” when I was five years old, the ocean and the animals that live below its surface have fascinated me. So when the opportunity came for me to move across country to work at the prestigious Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Florida, I accepted the internship eagerly!

Monday October 6, 2008. If you have never heard of Mote, listen up! Mote Marine Lab is a truly amazing research facility that was founded in 1955 by Dr. Eugenie Clark (nicknamed “The Shark Lady”), a woman whose groundbreaking work focused on the biology and behavior of sharks. Over the past several decades, this tiny marine research station has expanded to a campus, containing an aquarium open to the public, a marine mammal center, an impressive library collection, lecture halls, and seven state-of-the-art research centers. World famous scientists come to Mote to make discoveries and live their dreams!

The first day of my internship was filled with excitement and anticipation. I couldn’t believe this dream was finally coming true. When I arrived, I first met with Mote’s friendly and helpful internship coordinator for my orientation, where I met several other new interns in different departments. One girl was from Ohio and would be working in the Manatee Care unit, two others were from Spain and would be studying Snook in the Fisheries Department, and another girl came all the way from South Africa to do dolphin research! (And I thought I had traveled a long way!) Meeting these four girls made me even more excited, because everyone was eager and looking forward to their work. Our excitement built off of each other!

The rest of the morning was dedicated to learning about the history of Mote, familiarizing myself with the grounds, filling out paperwork, and viewing numerous safety videos. Then, I met my wonderful advisor, Petra. Petra discussed with me my 40 hour per week schedule, goals for my internship and some of my career objectives. Because I am interested in animal medicine, Petra decided to place me with our animals that need the most medical attention: Pete, a pygmy killer whale (a species that is actually a type of dolphin!) that was admitted to the hospital this summer with severe infections and parasites, and a group of three sea turtles who carry fibropapilloma tumors. Their names are Sy, Walt, and Cody. To ensure that no diseases are transmitted to Mote’s healthy dolphins, Moonshine and Harley, or to our non-papilloma sea turtles and hatchlings, no member of the staff that works with the sick animals are allowed to work with the healthy ones. So for the time being, Pete, Sy, Walt, and Cody are my new patients!

Throughout my first day, I met numerous members of the animal care staff, including the staff veterinarian and veterinary technician, animal trainers and handlers, fellow interns, and a team of dedicated volunteers (who, by the way, along with countless other tasks, organize shifts for monitoring Pete’s breathing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – amazing!). It was exciting to be amongst people that shared my love for animals and my love of the ocean!

And of course, before my day was through, I was put to work doing what interns do… shoveling frozen, dead fish from boxes into huge freezers. And I kept thinking to myself, “Am I ever going to get used to this smell?”

Have any questions or comments about Rebecca’s first day? Visit Mermaid Rebecca’s forum to interact with her directly!

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