When I found out that I got the Fellowship position at the Shedd Aquarium, I felt a huge mix of emotions. I was so excited-- this institution has been thriving in Chicago for almost a century, educating the millions of people from all of the world that have passed through its doors. With this also came a sense of intimidation. I asked myself, "Am I cut out for this? Can I represent the Shedd in all the ways it should be?". I also have already had a Fellowship position before, and I struggled with feelings of me taking this amazing opportunity from someone else. Despite my reluctance, I did not hesitate to accept the offer when I got the call from Christine.
And, after my first meeting with Christine, I knew that I made the right choice. Our senses of humor instantly meshed, and when her first words to me were "Today, you're doing the trial by fire", I eagerly wondered what I was getting myself into. It turns out, that "trial by fire" was changing the honey water in the garden bee hives. Before 10 minutes had passed of me being on the property, I was suited up in a mesh hat and nervously approaching the first hive with a bucket of honey water in my hand. Christine was well-aware of my entomology-based position from last summer, was this her way of making sure I can back up my experience? Unfortunately, my experience last summer was mostly counting larvae, not dealing with swarms of anything. Regardless, I walked up to that hive and, after two more, I completed my Trial by Fire.
A couple weeks later, I had my Intern Orientation. This 4-hour long event was not remotely close to what I expected. I expected there to be a handful of other interns, maybe 3 or 4 besides me, and I expected to be working with Christine and other interns coming into the Horticulture Department. Instead, I showed up to a crowd of at least a dozen other interns, almost all from different departments of the Shedd. I had no idea that the Shedd had so many departments, and I had no idea that they provided so many enriching internship opportunities for students. Besides the Horticulture department, there were interns representing Advertising, PR, Special Exhibits, Gift Shop Management, Aquatic Fauna Care, and so many more. This diversity of interests and studies felt extremely compelling, and made me excited to learn about all the different facets of the Shedd over the course of my summer.
Between the special events I get to take advantage of, the views of the city and of Lake Michigan, and the intimidatingly extensive PR policy we have to follow, I know that this summer is going to be one of the most interesting I've ever had. I have yet to start actually working with Christine and the rest of the horticulture team, and I do not yet have a project planned out for this summer, but with inspiration coming from literally every corner I know I will figure out something that fascinates my and contributes to the overall mission of the Shedd.
