This post is written by New England Aquarium dive intern Emma. A visitor recently uploaded a video of Emma interacting with a little boy named Joey through the glass at the Aquarium's Giant Ocean Tank (video below).
Hello! My name is Emma Kelley and I’m a Giant Ocean Tank Intern at the New England Aquarium. This internship is by far one of the best experiences of my life. Where else can a marine science student gain such valuable job experience while swimming with sea turtles? I currently attend the University of South Carolina and am majoring in marine science. Having grown up close to Boston, I took many trips to the New England Aquarium as a child, watching the turtles, sharks, and, of course, the divers. These trips convinced me that a career in marine science was the path for me. Actually diving with these animals and contributing to the maintenance of their tank is a dream come true.
As a dive intern, I help prepare all the G.O.T. food in the morning and spend the rest of the day keeping the kitchen and dive office clean, as well as diving to clean the tank and feed the animals. SCUBA diving is definitely my favorite part of this experience. I’m becoming a better diver, while taking care of the coolest animals on the planet. Interacting with aquarium visitors from both inside and outside the tank is also one of the best parts of this position. We have the opportunity to involve and inspire children, like Joey, in the ocean world and bring a smile to their face.
[Read more posts from interns here, here and here.]
The member who posted the video on YouTube sent us some background about Joey:
ReplyDelete"Joey is 20 months old and lives in Belmont. We're Aquarium members, so we go with some regularity. One of the first animals Joey learned to identify was 'fish' and he often points to aquariums and screams "fish!" when we see them. Lately, Joey has begin identifying all large fish as 'dolphins,' and at the end of the video you can hear him say 'dolphin, oh my goodness.' It's very cute."