Undergraduate College Internships and Other Volunteers:
At the college level, we are fortunate to have access through Mote Marine Laboratory to high quality, dedicated undergraduate student interns who volunteer with our program for at least 2-3 months periods (for more information on internships, please contact Jason Allen, SDRP Lab Manager, at: allenjb@mote.org). In addition, eight non-students, including local Sarasota residents, volunteered their time to the program. During 2008, 32 interns and out-of-town volunteers worked with us, providing 12,720 hours of assistance to the program. In addition to the international training program participants listed above, we were joined by interns and volunteers from Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Bermuda, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, and England.
Of the 148 former interns for whom we have current email addresses, 72 (49%) responded to a request to provide information about their careers following involvement with the SDRP. Of these, 32 (44%) and 13 (18%) are in the process of obtaining or have completed a Masters and PhD, respectively (with some falling into both categories). They have produced 97 papers, reports, and articles that are published, in press or in review and have made 115 presentations. Some of their comments regarding the value of their experience with the SDRP are presented below.
