Week 11:
Saying Goodbye

August 6, 2022

It was a great last week out here at the Baruch Marine Laboratory! It’s a bit surreal now that it’s actually my last week, but it’s been yet another really productive one. On Monday morning, Isabel and I went out into the marsh and collected the crab pitfall traps for the last time. Although I’ve only been a part of the collection side of the project, I think it’s going to be really interesting to read what they conclude after the collection period is over.

Because our white shrimp experiment is almost over, I spent the rest of Monday and the majority of Tuesday working in the seawater lab monitoring our experimental tanks/shrimp. Over the weekend, we had quite a lot of rain roll through, which as you know can mess with the water quality in the seawater lab since the water is pumped in directly from the marsh. Because of the rain, the water being pumped into our tanks often becomes full of sediment, which meant I spent quite a bit of time siphoning out the tanks to keep them somewhat clear and clean. Shrimp aren’t too bothered by all of the sediment per se, but it makes our lives a lot easier when trying to observe the shrimp if the water is clear.

I must say, it’s going to take some getting used to not living with all of my roommates once I go back home. Even though it’s been just a little under 3 months since coming out here to Georgetown, it’s going to be hard leaving so many great people. It wasn’t easy at first moving into a house with 9 other people who I had never met before, especially since we all come from very different backgrounds, but we all became good friends and made the most out of our summer in South Carolina. I am very thankful to have lived and worked with so many great people over the past 3 or so months!

To cap off a great summer for all us interns, everyone at the lab met up at Pawleys Island beach on Thursday night to celebrate all of the excellent research and work we did this summer. We played a ton of volleyball and cornhole and enjoyed some great food! As the sun set, we ended up digging a fire pit on the beach and making smores as well, which was awesome!

Friday was not only the last day of the white shrimp experiment but also my official last day working for the summer as well.  I spent most of the morning packing up my office and finishing up some shrimp work down in the seawater lab. Because I had an 8-hour drive ahead of me that day, I couldn’t stick around for all of the shrimp measuring in the afternoon, but I had enough time to say my goodbyes to everyone at the lab. I grabbed a few pictures with Matt before taking off, who I am very thankful to have worked under this summer!

Over the course of my time here at the Belle Baruch Marine Laboratory, I have certainly learned a lot about coastal/marine ecology and what a career in this field looks like after graduation. I am very grateful for having the opportunity to come out this summer and learn from some amazing people. It’s been a blessing to be surrounded by such a cool work atmosphere/people. Whether it be out in the field, something to do with a research project, or even life after college, everyone was always willing to answer questions I had along the way, which was really beneficial to me!