We are excited to welcome our Fall 2024 Marine Education & Conservation Interns to REEF! They will assist with education, outreach, events, and daily operations around the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Marine Conservation Interns play an integral role in our daily operations, programs, events, and outreach. Since 1993, more than 150 young adults have interned with REEF and transitioned into careers all over the world, in the marine conservation field and beyond. Please join us in welcoming (from L-R) Natalee, Coryn, Kuba, and John! Here's a bit more about them:
John Bychok is from York, Maine, and recently graduated this year from California Polytechnic State University with a B.S. in biology and a minor in biotechnology. He studied abroad during his junior year in Costa Rica, where he backpacked through the OSA Peninsula for six weeks, studying environmental conservation and policy. John also worked closely with sustainable tourism and conducted coral restoration field research. He is interested in ecology and understanding how environmental change can impact animals and natural processes within habitats, and would like to learn about hot to counteract that and prioritize sustainability within communities.
Coryn Ferguson graduated from the University of Miami in May 2024 with a degree in marine science and immunology and microbiology. She has spent most of her undergraduate career engaging in research, where she has worked with marine viruses, educational outreach programs, and cancer treatment development. She is passionate about the influence the ocean has on so many processes. During her undergraduate career, she learned about the ocean's role in human health and hopes to pursue a career in marine pharmacology. Coryn has served on the executive board of Ocean Awareness Week at UM, has enjoyed service trips to Key Largo, and has planted corals off the coast of Florida. She also has a company called Creative Carbon Innovations, which focuses on providing seed funding to new ventures within climate tech. In her free time, she enjoys diving, going to the beach, or finding something new to explore.
Kuba Naum graduated from UC-Santa Barbara with a double major in film and environmental studies. His love for the ocean was sparked at a young age during a snorkeling trip in Bermuda. Since then he’s dived around the world, worked on coral farms in Saba and in the Florida Keys, and become a certified rescue diver. He aspires to make a difference through his storytelling skills, combining film and environmental topics to produce media that can promote change and better our relationship with the natural world. Kuba has worked on award-winning documentaries, created videos for nonprofit organizations, and loves to bring his camera underwater. Some of his hobbies include scuba diving, photography, sports, watching movies, and traveling. He’s very excited to learn more about how non-profits operate and to work with the REEF team!
Natalee Webster graduated in June 2024 with a B.S. in biology and a focus in marine biology from Oregon State University. As an undergraduate, she studied gray whale ecology and foraging patterns, which involved kayaking, towing plankton samples, and using software to track whale blows. She also studied Oregon’s kelp forest ecosystems, with a focus on the presence of Sunflower Sea Stars. A certified Divemaster and AAUS scientific diver, she loves introducing new divers to the underwater world! She has volunteered at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where she helped clean tanks used for public education, and ReefCheck, where she conducted underwater surveys to monitor species. In her free time, Natalee enjoys reading, swimming, camping, and SCUBA diving. She is very excited to explore the Atlantic Ocean and be part of the REEF team!
For more information about the REEF Internship or to apply for an upcoming semester, visit www.REEF.org/internship.