One of my favorite things about REEF's campus changes with the seasons, but it has nothing to do with the weather. It's the arrival of new interns.
Every January, May, and August, we welcome a new cohort of young people — usually four — to live and work with us for a semester. They come from all over, most in their final year of college or recently graduated, and arrive through a genuinely competitive application and interview process.
True to their title, Education and Conservation Interns (ECIs, as we call them) spend much of their time here on education: teaching Explorers programs, accompanying Expedition groups, and welcoming visitors into the Ocean Exploration Center. Wherever you are, if you've called the REEF phone number, ordered from our online store, or joined a virtual program, an intern has been part of it.
They arrive with their own goals — to find out what it's like to work in education or a nonprofit, or something more personal. What they end up accomplishing is often more than they expected, as this past summer's interns demonstrated. Navya created an Ocean After Hours program on cephalopods. Jay built an entire Escape Room event from scratch. Nevaeh earned her open water certification right here in the Keys. Will took to the REEF tent at Coralpalooza in his first week, and it became one of the highlights of his whole internship.
Some interns grow so much we invite them back for a year-long Fellowship — Daisy Anderson and Camille Beeding are our newest. Fellow Harrison Gaunt took that spirit even further. Building on Science Saturday programming that an earlier Fellow, Anna Velardi, first started, he created "Senses of the Sea" and other engaging classes. These became such hits that Harrison had a fan family show up every single Saturday, eager to see what he'd cooked up next!
When semesters end, some interns head back to finish school or on to graduate programs. Some return as Fellows. Some go on to join our staff. All of them leave a mark on this campus and on the Keys community that gets to know them along the way.
Below, in Faces of REEF, you'll meet our incoming interns and Fellow. Join me in welcoming them.