PMMC Interns |
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2007 PMMC Internship Program The PMMC internship program is sponsored by a generous grant from Cruise West.
Lindsay Mathis Lindsay has loved the ocean and water activities for as long as she can remember. She began swimming competitively at the age of 7 and continued to swim year-round for 14 years. She also goes snorkeling, kayaking, and surfing when given the opportunity. She loves to travel, especially to places near the ocean, where she can go swimming and explore the marine life. Lindsay also enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and horse-back riding. She loves to have fun and try new things. This is Lindsay’s third trip to Petersburg, AK. Her favorite things to do here are boating and fishing. She also likes to go hiking, camping, and biking. She is excited to have a fun-filled summer here in Petersburg and to meet a lot of new people. Ricky Duene Davis I enjoy hiking, fishing, camping and generally anything that has to do with the outdoors. I love nature photography. I am also involved with the Milpitas Camera Club and the Historical Society of Milpitas. I have made personal appearances as the “Milpitas Monster” in parades and special events. The Milpitas Monster is a 1970’s sci-fi movie produced by the Milpitas High photography class. I've been interested in marine mammals since the arrival of Humphrey the humpback whale to the Delta and San Francisco bay area in 1992. Interestingly enough the arrival of the humpback whales Delta and Dawn, to the delta and the San Francisco bay area was two weeks or so before I left for my summer internship at the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center, and they returned to the ocean the day after we left the bay area for Alaska. I have always lived in the San Francisco bay area and always wanted to live in a small community, that is one of the reasons I was so excited about this internship. The population of Petersburg is smaller than the population of my High School in Milpitas. My life has been filled with many people and experiences that have made me who I am today. I hope to expand these experiences during my summer in Petersburg. Eric Brewer Eric’s interest of the marine environment came from a scuba diving class he took at West Valley College. This class exposed him to the various species that can be found underwater in California’s Monterey Bay. Fascinated by the underwater life, his passion led him to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, California where he completed his first successful internship. Needing to complete a second internship, Eric was very excited to have the opportunity to travel to Alaska and work at the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center. Here he is looking to expand his knowledge of marine habitats in Southeast Alaska and its inhabitants. In his spare time Eric enjoys fishing, hunting, prospecting, and being with family and friends. He plans on returning to West Valley College as a part time student to study Arc GIS, GPS, map making, and advanced scuba diving. Eric will be celebrating his birthday here in Petersburg on July 7th. When asked what he would like to do that day he simply replied, “Fish!” 2006 Interns
Janelle Taggart I am a student at West Valley College in Saratoga, California, majoring in Park Management. After graduating in Spring 2007, my dream job will be becoming a Park Ranger anywhere throughout the northern West Coast of the U.S. I also plan on furthering my education by going on to get my bachelor’s degree in Enviromental Science and master’s in Forestry. When the opportunity arose for me to come up to Southeast Alaska and spend the summer at the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center, I jumped. I left family and friends for 9 weeks and came up here for an experience of a lifetime, and it had been exactly that. I have a passion for nature, whether it be the forest, moutains, beach, desert or ocean, and enjoy being able to teach others about these areas. Since I was a child I remember heading out into the woods and hiking around with my family. This sparked an interest in nature that later would result in my interest in not only teaching about nature but protecting and conserving nature for future generations to enjoy. I feel at peace when surrounded by the natural beauty we have here on earth and I want to share that with anyone who is interested.
Kathleen Jones Kathleen, who prefers to be addressed as “Your Majesty,” is in the middle of yet another career change, this time from high tech to park management. She earned an A.S. in Park Management from West Valley College in Saratoga, California in May of 2006. A weeklong tour through Southeast Alaska in 2005 (not on one of those big cruise ships) gave her an abiding appreciation for the area. When the chance to spend the summer as an intern in Petersburg arose, she couldn’t pass it up even though it meant more school work. Her humble demeanor was developed during her formative years spent in New York. After receiving a B.A. in philosophy from Bucknell University about a hundred years ago, she started working life as a ski bum in Vermont. Other experiences included receptionist / sports reporter / paste-up artist / circulation manager for a weekly newspaper, typesetter, graphic artist, production manager, purchasing agent, software manager, office temp, improv comedian and technical writer. In the middle of all that Kathleen retired twice: once to travel for 18 months through Europe and Africa, and again to sit down and write. Somehow all of that experience, while not obviously related to marine mammals, taught her transferrable skills that stood her in good stead while working at the Center. She lives with her partner BJ in Mountain View, California and works for Palo Alto Open Space as something called an Open Space Technician. She is in the process of applying for ranger positions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kathleen expects that for the rest of her life she will manage to work in references to marine mammals, Petersburg, and the PMMC in all her ranger talks, no matter the topic, because her time in Petersburg was such a wonderful experience. Summer 2005 Interns
Erin Schwartz A graduate of Petersburg High School, Erin has lived in the Petersburg area all of her life. It was in high school that the teachers and beautiful surrounding area perked her interest in biology. After fulfilling her undergraduate degree in Biology/Chemistry at the University of Redlands, she finds herself back in her home town of Petersburg for the summer interning at the PMMC before heading back down to continue her education in biochemistry at the University of California Davis. “Growing up in Petersburg has given me a unique opportunity to observe marine mammal activity in Frederick Sound. Ever since I was very young I have enjoyed their presence here and wished to learn more about the marine mammals that inhabit the surrounding waters. After graduating from the University of Redlands I decided to apply as an intern at the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center to see if I could get more involved in the study of these amazing creatures. It has been a wonderful experience to get to know the researchers, their research, learn more about marine mammals (as my known facts on the area before my internship was not very in depth), and to actually go out there on the boats and see the surface activity for myself. The people I have come in contact with and what they do for the local wildlife is amazing. I intend to support their efforts in the future in any way that I can.
Kiana Kegel |
