From Nick DeProspero ’13:

 This summer I have had the opportunity to intern for the education department at NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island in Manteo, NC. I not only help educate the public through programs and outreach, but I also have learned to handle all types of animals and have learned about a large array of different organisms through this experience. I’ve handled corn snakes, Eastern king snakes, rat snakes, Vietnamese mossy frogs, poison dart frogs, tiger salamanders, marine toads, southern toads, waxy monkey frogs, tarantulas, scorpions, box turtles, snapping turtles, diamondback terrapins, softshell turtles, musk and mud turtles, American alligators, African pygmy hedgehogs, blue tonged skinks, and my favorite, loggerhead sea turtles.

Nick with one of the aquarium’s alligators

 I’ve had practice or even live animal encounters with the public with all these animals!

Interacting with aquarium visitors

I am also writing a public program on bycatch and Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) for the aquarium, while also trying to put together a replica TED.   On top of all the stuff I do at the aquarium, I’ve also taken part in composting, husbandry training, sea turtle nest crawl training, attended a dolphin necropsy and even went pelican banding on Pelican Island by Oregon Inlet; it’s the single largest breeding colony for brown pelicans in the United States. 

Pelican banding trip