AltaSea's Summer Interns Reflect on Their Experiences
By Emily Vidovich. Emily has a background in environmental journalism and sustainability and is a member of the George Washington University Class of 2019.
This year, AltaSea’s summer intern cohort included students from community colleges and universities across California.
Some of the students, like Sophia Fairclough, are Port of Los Angeles locals. Fairclough learned about AltaSea several years ago, while she was a student at San Pedro High School—a public high school near the AltaSea campus.
Fairclough, now a rising junior at UC Davis, recently completed a month-long internship with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which operates a field office at the AltaSea campus. During her internship, Fairclough educated community members about CDFW’s work and shadowed scientists in the field as they collected samples to analyze in the CDFW lab at AltaSea.
Allegra Recknor is another local student who interned at AltaSea this summer. She first heard about AltaSea almost a decade ago, when her grandfather—whose favorite spot in town was a lookout near the port’s historic warehouses—handed her a newspaper clipping about AltaSea.
Now, those warehouses are part of AltaSea’s blue economy campus, and Recknor is a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt pursuing a degree in marine biology. Recknor’s internship at AltaSea was focused on AltaSea’s education programs. She created learning activities for visiting students, organized field trips, and planned itineraries for AltaSea events.
Alexander Mendez, an engineering major at CSU Long Beach, came to AltaSea’s internship program via Ready to Succeed—a program that gives foster youth and first-generation college students the resources to complete their degrees and pursue successful careers.
At the AltaSea campus, Mendez is currently interning with Sperra (formerly known as RCAM Technologies), a startup that focuses on 3D printing concrete for marine-based renewable energy infrastructure. “A big lesson [I learned] was to ask for help when I needed it,” Mendez said. “I was never looked down upon for not knowing something; it was really nice to be surrounded by people that were not only willing to teach me things, but looked forward to it.”
Jacqueline Martinez and Bella Burnett both discovered AltaSea’s internship program via the Center for Climate Change Education at West LA College. Martinez works with AltaSea tenant EcoByRy to turn plastic waste, including plastic pollution cleaned from the ocean, into sustainable surfboards and lifestyle products.
Burnett, who will be transferring from West LA College to UC Davis this year to study environmental science management, conducts research with Equatic at AltaSea’s UCLA lab involving the alkalinization of acidified seawater—a carbon dioxide removal technology.
“I became very familiar with lab equipment and processes, and I got to use creativity and critical thinking skills to problem solve during experiments,” Burnett said, “I hope to do something similar to this after graduation.”
While AltaSea interns tend to be interested in blue economy careers, the internship has proven useful for students with other interests as well. Alexis Caamal, who has been interning with EcoByRy, is pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Studio Arts and Psychology at Harbor Community College.
“My internship experience, particularly working with students, has reinforced my passion for therapeutic art,” Caamal said.
For students with a passion for the ocean, AltaSea internships help them explore their interests and gain career-ready skills. After college, Recknor hopes to obtain a Master’s Degree in marine biology. One of her goals is to be accepted into CSU Long Beach’s Shark Lab, which would allow her to continue working at AltaSea during her studies.
Fairclough, who is pursuing a degree in marine and coastal science, said that interning with AltaSea confirmed her professional interests and gave her clarity on how to refine the focus of her studies.
“Surrounded by like-minded people dedicated to ocean conservation and environmental sustainability, I have consistently felt motivated.” she said.
Learn more about intern opportunities here.