This past summer, the City of Savannah launched the Summer 500 program, which is designed to provide high school students with paid internships at various businesses in the community. UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant participated in the program by offering two internship spots, which were filled by rising seniors, Carlos Wolfolk from Jenkins High School, and Omar Barton from A.E. Beach High School.
Wolfolk spent his nine-week internship working at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium under the advisement of assistant curator Lisa Olenderski. His responsibilities ranged from cleaning the touch tanks to monitoring water quality to preparing the nutritional food supplement for the Aquarium animals.
In addition to learning about what it takes to keep the aquarium operating, Wolfolk also gained experience in environmental education by shadowing UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant marine educators and education interns during Summer Marine Science Camps. Learn more about Wolfolk’s internship experience in this video developed by the City of Savannah.
Omar Barton worked in the Shellfish Research Lab with Director Tom Bliss, Hatchery Manager Justin Manley, and Research Technician Rob Hein. Barton’s primary responsibilities were to clean upwelling tanks and algae tanks daily. The cleaning of upwelling tanks is important since it rinses away all the silt that collects around the oysters to maintain proper water flow to oyster spat. Oysters feed on algae, so by cleaning the tanks Omar helped maintain algae culture that’s fed to the millions of oysters currently growing at the hatchery.
Summer 500 Intern, Carlos Wolfolk (third from the left), a senior at Jenkins High School, works at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium over the summer. Also pictured (from Left to Right) Lisa Olenderski, Anne Lindsay, and Devin Dumont.
“My favorite part of the internship was getting to know the staff at the Shellfish Research Lab and being accepted like family,” says Barton. “I’m thankful for this internship because it has given me the knowledge and skills needed to apply for aquaculture or agricultural opportunities in the future.”
Faculty and staff at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant were glad to serve as mentors and provide new experiences for Barton and Wolfolk through the Summer 500 program. They plan to continue to invest in Savannah’s future workforce by participating the program again next summer.