Saragrace will be living in a residence hall at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and will be working 30 hours a week at the science aquarium. She will be training as an assistant naturalist, learning to lead public shoreside collecting walks, and she will be working with the professional staff at the aquarium, caring for the collection of marine animals from New England waters. In addition to her science aquarium training, Saragrace will also participate in the Careers in Marine Science Seminar: a series of meetings with scientists, hands-on activities, tours of laboratories, and field trips to other aquariums.
Saragrace has known that she wants to be a marine scientist since an early age. She has her PADI Advanced Open Water diver certification and has attended 3 years of marine science summer camps in San Diego and the Channel Islands. She has also had the opportunity to scuba dive in various marine locals and habitats in Galapagos, Hawaii, and the Sea of Cortez.
At Metro Arts, Saragrace has been able to direct many of her research papers in her humanities and in honors science coursework to support her interest in marine science. She has researched in-depth the history of the whaling industry in the U.S. and the capturing of marine mammals, and she created a science lesson and curriculum for teaching about various sharks, their respective marine biomes and the importance of shark conservation. Currently, Saragrace is finishing up semester-long projects on the history of the ornamental fish trade and a water-quality study on the suitability for aquatic life in Phoenix-area lakes, streams and canals.
For more information on the Woods Hole Science Aquarium and what Saragrace Palumbo will be doing in her internship, go to aquarium.nefsc.noaa.gov/hsinterns.html.
