Mote and The Nature Conservancy partner in new pilot internship program

(Photo caption: Mote celebrates new partnership with The Nature Conservancy with a reception that brought together Research Experiences for Undergraduates – LEAF Alumni interns, their Mote scientist mentors and the program's sponsors.  Left to right: Lian Valera, intern; Lucinda Li, intern; Brie Colon, intern; Joan Kim, intern; Linda Monda and Keith Monda, program sponsors;  Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President and CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory; Dr. Erinn Muller, Staff Scientist at Mote; Peter Chen, intern; and Dr. Andrea Larsen, Postdoctoral Scientist at Mote.)

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On Friday, July 24, Mote Marine Laboratory — an independent research institution that hosts interns from around the world — celebrated a new partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which gave five college interns a rigorous, marine research-based internship opportunity during the 2014-2015 school year.
 
Mote and The Nature Conservancy teamed up this year to create the pilot internship program Research Experiences for Undergraduates – LEAF Alumni.
 
The new pilot internship program drew upon Mote’s 11 years of experience hosting the internationally recognized internship program Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and The Nature Conservancy’s high school internship program, Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF).
 
The 10-week program is coordinated directly through Mote’s internship resource office and offers high school students who participated in The Nature Conservancy’s LEAF program a way to continue their internship experiences as college undergraduate students. It is designed to provide hands-on opportunities for students to conduct scientific research under the mentorship of Mote scientists.
 
Four student interns were selected to work with Dr. Erinn Muller, Manager of the Coral Health & Disease Research Program at Mote, from May 30 through Aug. 7, 2015.
 
“I feel so incredibly blessed to be here because it’s such a great program – I am learning so much,” said Joan Kim, Research Experiences for Undergraduates – LEAF Alumni intern from Tufts University. “My mentor, Dr. Erinn Muller, has been such a great resource. Before this, I was thinking of making a career out of environmental communication and relaying the importance of environmental science to a larger audience, but now I realize I want to do the science and I want to help people understand what I am doing and why it matters.”
 
One student was selected to work with Dr. Andrea Larsen, Mote Postdoctoral Scientist in the Marine Immunology Program, for the 10-week program.
 
“This program has helped me a lot and has prepared me for the future,” said Lian Valera, recent graduate of the University of Vermont. “The tests I am doing in the lab are directly associated with epidemiology, which is what I’d like to pursue as a career as I apply for my master’s degree. Not only does my mentor, Dr. Andrea Larsen, have incredible patience, but she has incredible knowledge and she has taught me and encouraged me every step of the way.”
 
 On Friday, Research Experiences for Undergraduates – LEAF Alumni students and their mentor scientists celebrated the partnership between Mote and The Nature Conservancy, and met Linda and Keith Monda, who sponsored the program.
 
“Our philosophy is those that have been blessed have the obligation to give back, and I feel like we’ve been incredibly blessed, so we focus our energy on philanthropy and service,” said Keith Monda.  “We particularly focus those efforts to include children, education and conservation. This opportunity to partner Mote with The Nature Conservancy is the trifecta of what we believe in. I am thrilled to be able to support this, because the students in this room are the future and we have to do everything we can to ensure that they’re successful.”
 
Keith Monda is a former trustee and longtime supporter of The Nature Conservancy, retired President and CEO of Coach, Inc., and a passionate philanthropist who made the pilot internship program a possibility.
 
“It is wonderful to gather the students, the mentors and the supporters together all in one room,” said Dr. Michael Crosby, Mote CEO and President.  “Today we celebrate the three pillars that Mote was founded on 60 years ago – passion, partnerships and philanthropy. We celebrate the passion of our scientists, which is passed down to the next generation through programs like this. We celebrate this new partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which allows us to provide more undergraduate research experience focused on the next generation of leaders in environmental science and conservation. And we celebrate philanthropy, because Mote is an independent research institution that can only survive if we have philanthropic support, as the Mondas have so graciously given us.”
 
The experience gained through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates – LEAF Alumni program aims to enhance knowledge and experience needed for entry-level employment and graduate studies in marine science-related fields.
 
The program allows students to gain experience in planning and implementing scientific research under the direction of a Mote scientist, earn a stipend, hone scientific writing skills by completing a "manuscript-style" final report, attend scientific seminars presented by graduate students, Ph.D. scientists from Mote, government agencies or universities and learn about opportunities for graduate study, careers in marine science and related communication skills through student workshops.
 
“Opportunities like this inspire the next generation of scientists,” Crosby said. Two of our Ph.D. scientists started out right where these students are standing, as interns at Mote. They finished school, got a lot of experience and are now world-class researchers at Mote. We just can’t thank the Mondas enough for giving these kids the opportunity to be inspired by science.”