Biology Internships

Internships (paid or volunteer) provide opportunities to gain valuable experience.  All students are required to complete an internship as part of their program of study. Goshen College students participate in a diverse range of internships that help them test their career interests.

Check out these recent examples:

Maple Scholars program

“I participated in the Maple Scholars program with Dr. Neil Detweiler. I extracted small pulmonary arteries from cow lungs and exposed the vessels to lower intracellular and extracellular pH. The vessels were tied on a cannula found on a vessel perfusion chamber. After solutions were poured into the chamber, vessel changes were recorded by a camera that was on a dissection microscope. We found that lower intracellular pH causes vasoconstriction, and lower extracellular pH causes vasodilation. We found it surprising to see opposing responses in the intracellular and extracellular compartments. Further research is required to identify which effect dominates in vivo and what ion channels are responsible for the effects.” – Rediet Delelegne

Center for Civic Innovation

“I worked with Notre Dame’s Center for Civic Innovation with the Elkhart Catalyst summer internship program. This internship was entirely virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions. I was assigned to two projects. My full-time project involved creating an informative website about waste and recycling for the City of Elkhart. My fellow interns and I released two surveys to gather information of what to emphasize on our website. We then created a website that will be integrated into the city’s MyElkhart311 app. My side project involved designing an educational rain garden with university interns for the Tolson Center. We designed a layout of native plants and educational signs. Both projects were a valuable learning experience that involved working with people across disciplines.”

– Lisa Nalliah

Black Pine Animal Sanctuary

“I completed an internship at Black Pine Animal Sanctuary in Albion, IN. Black Pine is a sanctuary, not a zoo, meaning that they do not buy, sell, breed, or trade any of their animals. The animal residents are rescued from a variety of backgrounds including roadside zoos, hoarding situations, private owners, and circuses. When they arrive at Black Pine, they remain there for the rest of their lives. I cared for several large and small cats including a lioness, a cougar, tigers, and an Asian spotted leopard. Black Pine is also home to bears, wolves, foxes, and a variety of birds, reptiles, and primates. Interning at Black Pine helped me discover that a job in animal care is extremely intense, but improving the lives of the animals and building relationships with them makes it even more rewarding.”                – Ruby Meyer 

Coral Restoration research

“I completed my internship in the Coral Restoration program at Mote Marine Laboratory, located in the Florida Keys. I was primarily responsible for daily husbandry and monitoring of the coral fragments on site and aiding in the mitigation of any disease or other stressor. I also had the opportunity to participate in the process of fragmenting the corals and preparing them to be outplanted in the field. As interns we also participated in article discussions and assisted other departments. Coral restoration, or restoration of any kind, is incredibly collaborative work.”  – Leah Otto

Anesthesiology

“For my internship, I shadowed Dr. Park, an anesthesiologist, who works in Arcadia, CA. I observed many surgeries including orthopedic cases, all kinds of plastic surgeries, cataracts, pediatric cases, and general cases. Shadowing Dr. Park drastically changed my thoughts about anesthesia because his responsibilities were much more than just putting people to sleep and giving medications. The true role of anesthesia lies in securing the airway of the patient and it is critical for the patient’s health. I have talked to many doctors and nurses during my internship and I have learned so much about the field of medicine and healthcare. It has been a meaningful experience and a great learning opportunity!”

– Byeong Min Lim

Turtle Research

“I surveyed Blanding’s turtles at Merry Lea Environmental Center and analyzed the resident turtle populations for their diet selectivity. We used radio telemetry equipment to track six Blanding’s turtles throughout the summer season. I designed a 4-week experiment to analyze turtle diet in Blanding’s, Snapping, and Painted turtles, which involved checking ring net traps on a daily basis in multiple wetland sites across the property. I also assisted with other project such as helping establish a long-term salamander monitoring program and assessing how habitat edge effects impact small mammal populations.” – Liam Elias

Aquarium Encounters

“My internship was at Aquarium Encounters in Marathon, FL. In this photo I am target feeding the southern stingrays in the Stingray Cove exhibit. It was very cool to see how powerful these stingrays were as they came to get a piece of food from my hand. The southern stingrays in this exhibit are all female and about 6 feet across.”

– Nick Davis

 

 

City of Elkhart Aquatic Biology program

“I interned this summer with Daragh Deegan, who is Elkhart County’s fish biologist. We sampled fish in the streams and rivers of Elkhart County and South Bend via electroshock fishing. A typical day involved netting fish, getting the lengths, weights, and total count of the species we caught, and releasing them back into the water. ”                – Simon Graber-Miller

 

 

Vector-borne disease research at Colorado State University

“I completed my internship working in Dr. Rushika Perera’s lab at the Center for Vector-Borne and Infectious Diseases (CVID) at Colorado State University (CSU). My project focused on Dengue virus (DENV) and the metabolic processes that break down phospholipids, which serve as mechanisms for viruses to enter cells. I worked closely with another undergraduate at CSU who worked on a project in tandem with mine. I was able to learn research techniques such as cell culturing and working with various cell lines, BSL-2 protocol, siRNA knockdown, viral plaque assays, RNA extractions, and cytotoxicity assays. The most important things that I gained from this internship were a lifelong mentor, strengthened research skills, and new friends!”– Ainslee Zou

Science Education: ETHOS

 

“I worked at ETHOS Innovation Center in Elkhart, Indiana. ETHOS is a hands-on children’s discovery museum that focuses on the sciences. The museum is open to field trips from surrounding area schools through the week and to the public every third Saturday of the month. My role during these times was to showcase the animals in our “Critter Corner” and educate visitors with fun facts. I would answer questions and allow them to pet some of the animals. This was a great opportunity to spread knowledge and wonder.”  – McKinzi Vega

 

Hopedale Medical Complex

“My internship took place at the Hopedale Medical Complex of Hopedale, Illinois. I spent most of my time in their hospital and emergency room, where I worked as a unit clerk. My internship had me working the “background” of the hospital, assisting the doctors and nurses to make sure they could provide care effectively. Some of the tasks I regularly did included: entering orders from the doctors electronically so that blood work could be collected or radiology could be performed; maintaining paper charts of each patient, ensuring that all patient information was up to date and appropriately organized; and logging records of patients that had come in and out of the hospital and emergency room. I also occasionally cleaned and remade rooms for new patients or assisted with patient care by passing meal trays. When I wasn’t in the hospital, I was working and shadowing in multiple other parts of the complex, including the nursing home, laboratory, and the physical therapy/rehab clinic.” – Jonah King

Tallgrass Prairie Grazing Research

“My internship was working with the prairies on campus, at Merry Lea, and at Little Bluestem Farm as part of the Tallgrass Prairie Grazing Project. We collected various data to test for the separate and combined ecological effects of burning and cattle grazing management practices. I collected plant composition data through quadrat sampling techniques in the treatment plots, as well as soil samples to test for physical and chemical properties of the different treatments and bordering non-prairie areas. Additionally, I got to help with the prairie burnings in the spring of 2021 and to move the cattle through their grazing sequence for a few weeks in the summer.”
– Josie Strader