2010 Interns Are Here!!

Our 2010 High School Intern season has begun! This past Fall, Kathy and I went to 12 local high schools looking for interested candidates and sent packets to all the schools we couldn't go talk to.

We had 174 students apply to the program and interviewed 50 students for the positions. We hired 23 new interns representing 18 high schools in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester 2 School Districts.

This was our biggest recruitment year so far!

Here is a list of the new interns. They will be completing 4 training classes in the next 4 months learning all about South Carolina's habitats as well as job skills. If you'd like to learn more about the program, go to our website www.scaquarium.org/Volunteers/hsip and come back to read more on our blog.

Anna Adamson
L’Imari Alston
Ka’la Drayton
Hillary Evans
Carlee Hennemann
Taishawn Joy
Jeremy Kitzmann
Summer LeCrone
Angela Liu
Kristen Oliver
Erin Peifer
Jalonna Robinson
Kaitlyn Servello
Blanchez Sharpe
DeJanai Singleton
Laticia Singleton
Rolando Sison Jr.
Caitlin Smith
Kristal Spann
Donald Starkweather Jr.
Cameron Turner
Oddom Vong
Latoya Washington

Congratulations Interns!!! I'm looking forward to another great year!

-Jaime

It's been a month...

The high school interns have been gone a month and I still can't believe the time went so fast this summer.

It seems like they are all enjoying their senior year and I've already written 2 recomendations for a couple of the girls.

4 of them have been back to volunteer with us, which is amazing since the beginning of the school year can be so hectic. I hope to see some of the others as things settle down.

Soon (Oct.) it'll be time for Kathy and I to come out to the schools and recruit new interns for the summer of 2010. It'll be nice to have the 2009 interns help us when we get to their schools.

If you are a high school junior or know of a high school junior who would like the opportunity to be an intern at the Aquarium, please check out our website (scaquarium.org) under volunteers and interns!

Applications will be ready soon!!!

- Jaime

I miss the girls

I just finished reading all of the intern's last blogs of the summer and it really made me miss having them all here. We had a great summer and the time flew by so fast!


I hope they are all having a wonderful first week back to school and can't wait to see them when they come to volunteer.


Thought I'd give you some of the information from the summer:

• 10 high school girls
• From 4 different high schools (Garrett Academy, Fort Dorchester HS, Wando HS, Academic Magnet)
• 8 week internship
• They worked a total of 1532 hours (WOW!!)
• This represents 306 total work shifts

What those statistics don't tell you is the huge hearts these ladies have. They worked hard learning all the information I threw at them to be good interns and they stretched their limits when it came to overcoming some of their fears. They added so much to our Aquarium, from their youthfulness to the extra hands on the floor and in the touch tank. These ladies were a fantastic group and I miss having their smiling faces in the building.


They are a wonderful group of young ladies and I hope that they will remember the experiences they've had here this summer (especially "Fred"). It was a great pleasure to supervise this group!


- Jaime Coomes

Courtneay's end of the summer

Well, its my final blog guys, hopefully you have been keeping up with me :) As I said before this was a FANTASTIC experience! I met a lot of new people and made great new friends.


I love Ashley, Mai and Stacey. I love the rest of the interns too, but I see them all the time at school. All the interns are awesome! I know all 10 of us are going to keep in touch.


Here is my lists of favorites:
Instructors - Ms. Jaime and Ms. Kathy
Favorite Intern - All
Favorite Animal - Inky (kingsnake)
Favorite Place - Volunteer lounge (comfy couches)
Favorite Job - Animal programs


- Courtneay Brown

Aurielle's end of the summer

I am so sad that this summer is over :( That means school is about to start and my summer job is over. Never in a million years I would I have thought I would hold snakes and alligators!


This experience has taught me to be more open and to not always be shy when it comes to people. I do plan to volunteer, but will miss working 4 days a week. I will miss my fellow interns especially. We were one big family!


I will also miss Ms. Jaime and Ms. Kathy. They taught me a lot about myself and I thank them for everything. Going in to college in the fall of 2010, I am now planning to major in biology and maybe one day I might be apart of the Aquarium staff.


Until then, Thanks for everything! To the 2010 interns, this is a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy it!


- Aurielle Hollington

Chelsea's end of the summer

I can't believe that this wonderful experience as a high school intern is coming to an end. I really had a lot of fun this summer. I have made lots of new friends and most of all, have learned a lot that will benefit me in the future.


I've overcome fears that I would never thought in a million years I would accomplish. I can't believe that someone like me who was scared to touch a bug would be able to hold a 6.5 foot Columbian red-tailed boa.


I am really going to miss working at the Aquarium four times a week, but I do look forward to volunteering on the weekends. I am very thankful that I was blessed with this opportunity, and I'm ready to put all the knowledge I've gained to good use :)


- Chelsea Hagan

Clarissa's end of the summer

I can not say enough how much I am going to miss this job here at the Aquarium. I love the environment around here. It's just so jolly and great! What I think I'm going to miss the most is the greatest bunch of interns ever!


Of course I'll miss the animals too. Handling them is great! I didn't think I would ever be someone who would hold snakes or alligators, never-the-less a 15 pound boa! Come to think of it, I just love animals even more now. My time here has been well spent. It might be time to say "see you later", but never "goodbye". I will be coming back to volunteer with my fellow interns.


My advice to any rising juniors is to aim high and apply for this internship. There are some times when it seems hard, but if you work hard you will do just fine. You will meet many new people and learn lots of cool things. I really wish I could do it all over again. I will still be here even when I'm not. I going to miss seeing Ms. Jaime and Ms. Kathy too. They are the best :)


P.S. We need another chance to teach Desiree how to swim!


- Clarissa LeSueur