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I started volunteering at the aquarium because,
at the time, my goal was to be a marine biology

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professor, and so what better way to get that
experience than to help out with the education

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here at the aquarium.

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From there I became really interested in what
they were doing with the marine mammals, so

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I started volunteering with the whales and
dolphins—absolutely fell in love with it.

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I was able to do a couple of internships while
I was in undergrad and had my foot firmly

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in the door by the time I graduated, and so
I worked here as a Beluga whale trainer for

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a little over eight years, and during that
time became really interested in Beluga whale

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research, and decided to pursue a graduate
degree at the University of Rhode Island.

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As a Beluga whale trainer a huge part of my
job was educating the public.

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I really enjoyed working with kids, especially.

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I had some opportunities to help out developing
curriculums for Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

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I especially enjoyed working with students
that visit from the Point Lay Community in

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northern Alaska when they visit Mystic Aquarium
on an exchange program.

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Really, what I most enjoyed from an education
standpoint at Mystic Aquarium was working

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with the college internship program.

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It's such a unique program compared to some
of the other internships that are available

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and that there is real emphasis on career
training.

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There is a lot of hands-on experience in our
internship program.

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I'm a product of the internship program here.

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There was a lot of value in kind of paying
that forward and being an intern mentor myself

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for many years and it's something that I really
treasure.

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Currently, all of my PhD research is being
conducted at the Mystic Aquarium and so I've

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had the unique opportunity to get access to
the Beluga whales here and rely on the wonderful

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training and veterinary staffs to collaborate
with my research.

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The value of conducting the research here
at the aquarium is that we can build a solid

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scientific foundation that we can then apply
to wild Beluga populations.

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This research would not exist without the
support of the Mystic Aquarium.

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The unique talent of the staff here and the
ability to train these animals to such a high

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degree, the wonderful facilities here really
makes this research possible.

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Of course along with all the people who have
served as mentors to me and who have helped

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me along in the research process and helped
to give me these opportunities.