Senior biology major Erin Tate interned at the Florida Aquarium last year, where she studied the behavior of Tiger Sharks in captivity.
Her impressive work during the yearlong internship caught the attention of the Office of Career Services. They chose Tate as the University of Tampa’s first Intern of the Year.
The Minaret had the opportunity to interview Tate to find out more about her internship and award.
The Minaret (M): So, tell us: why were you interested in researching animal behavior?
Erin Tate (ET): I really like being outside and around plants and animals. The internship took place over a year, and basically it was doing everything that is involved with the scientific study [of biology]. We were looking for possible reasons why Tiger Sharks get spinal deformities in captivity. I had to come up with behaviors that might cause [Tiger Sharks] to swim in a way that would cause this deformity. I had to look for all those behaviors and do all of the data analysis myself. I watched 60 hours plus of videotapes of sharks just swimming in a circle.
M: That sounds time consuming, what did you get out of the experience?
ET: I got to learn how science works, it was just really cool. The culmination of it was when I got to speak at an international symposium in front of veterinarians, scientists and graduate students.
And here I was, this undergrad looking at videos of sharks. It was really frightening and really nerve-racking, but when I was done with the talk, everyone there treated me like their colleague.I realized then that, I’m going to be okay; I’m going to be a scientist now; this is what I’m going to do. It was absolutely amazing. It’s definitely one of my most cherished memories.
M: Many students begin their internships with little-to-no knowledge of what exactly they’ll be doing. In your case, was the internship what you expected it to be?
ET: I didn’t know a lot about the internship when I got it. I knew that it was an animal behavior study about Tiger Sharks and that was about it.
I pretty much gave up my social life for it. I was working on Saturdays. I was working on spreadsheets when I wasn’t studying; but I wouldn’t change anything for it.
It was real world experience that was just invaluable. It was a situation where they needed someone to do the grunt work and all of these observations for them to code the data.
But when the animal behavior aspect became more and more important to the study, that’s when I realized “Hey, this is for real now.”
It was definitely a foot in the door. It really cemented my love for science and for doing hands-on research for animal behavior.
M: Now that you’ll be graduating in December, what will you do with this real world experience?
ET: I have so many plans, I’d like to do a professional internship with Disney and one of their animal programs. I might go back to the St. Louis Zoo and try to get a job
in zoo keeping. I might try to get a job with a national park. I might hike the Appalachian trail. I’m not sure yet, but I know that I’d really like to start giving back.
I want to volunteer at the Humane Society or the Lowry Park Zoo next semester. I want to find a way to combine my passion with doing something that not only gives back to science, but gives back to the public and animals that need a little love and care.
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Joshua Napier can be reached at joshua.napier90@gmail.com.