Outer Island Interns 2019

Interns are hired each summer to staff Outer Island and to assist visiting groups with educational programming during their visit to the island. The interns also conduct research activities, including water quality monitoring, and participate in maintenance activities on the island facilities. Below are brief bios for the Summer 2019 Outer Island Interns:

Jacob Yankee

Hello! My name is Jacob Yankee and I am excited to be working as an intern on Outer Island this summer. I am a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst majoring in Natural Resources Conservation. Nature is a life-long passion of mine. I enjoy taking walks through the forest when I am at school and going kayaking on the lake outside of my house when I am home.

My goal is to work in land conservation. This year I have been volunteering for the Kestrel Land Trust in Amherst, MA and greatly enjoying it. The protection of nature is something that I deeply care about.

I look forward to a great summer with the refuge staff and the visitors that come to Outer Island!

Bailey Roy

Hi my name is Bailey Roy and I am a junior at Central Connecticut State University studying for my B.S. in Biology. In the future I hope to focus my research in the marine biology field as I am very passionate about marine ecosystems, specifically ways to conserve these ecosystems.

I have always had an interest in biology and how the mechanics of life on earth work together. I was fortunate enough to take part in a course abroad in the winter of 2019, to Belize and the island of San Pedro, to see the coral reef and the ocean life that inhabits the reef. With this trip and the work I look forward to doing on Outer Island, I can not wait to increase my knowledge of different water and ocean systems.

Maggie Gwozdz

My name is Maggie Gwozdz, and I graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s of Science, focusing on Environmental Science and Chemistry. During the summer of 2017, I interned at DEEP in the Water Quality Division, where I ensured that weekly toxicity reports sent by polluting companies were in compliance with their NPDES permits. The following summer, I worked at MDC’s Reservoir 6 as a laboratory technician intern, where I conducted several analyses on water samples and monitored the presence of harmful algae in the water supply. I have also been part of a research project at CCSU to monitor the water quality of a stream that runs through the university.

I’ve always felt driven to respect and sustain Earth’s resources and non-human inhabitants. Nature has a way of making you realize how insignificant those daily mundane problems really are! I am excited to be part of the internship at the beautiful Outer Island because I will not only learn valuable field skills, but will be part of an amazing program that dedicates itself to wildlife research and makes public involvement a priority.