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This summer Emily Hanks ´10 is getting paid to work with a beluga whale named Inuk - only, she calls it "enrichment."
"Enrichment is basically anything that breaks up the whale´s day," says Hanks, one of the majority of students who take advantage of a stipend of up to $3,000 available to every student at Connecticut College who is interested in a junior year internship.
The unique internship program, which has been highlighted by USA Today and Wall Street Journal, makes it possible for students to work with their dream organizations, even those that might not typically accept interns.
As a beluga whale intern at the Mystic Aquarium, Hanks, a biology and psychology double major, gets up bright and early to help with the aquarium´s three beluga whales.
And after she is done "enriching" all three, she turns her focus to Inuk, the male beluga serving as the subject of a behavioral research project she is conducting while at the aquarium.
"Emily´s project will increase our knowledge of beluga breeding behavior and may benefit the training that we do for artificial insemination," Justin Richard, a 2003 graduate of Connecticut College and Hanks´s mentor at the aquarium, said. "At the end of her internship, she will write a scientific paper and present her findings at the aquarium in a seminar setting."
In addition, Hanks feeds the whales and provides visual, audio and interactive enrichment - like ringing bells, producing wild beluga sounds, using mirrors, dancing and or even getting right in the water to desensitize the whale to any stimuli they might encounter when guests come to visit.
"I have the chance to rub the whale down all over its body, give it tongue rubs and I´ve even been able to give a whale a hug," she said.
Hanks, who has volunteered at the aquarium since freshman year, hopes to turn her experience into an independent study, just as her mentor did when he was a student at the College.
"I was an intern twice during my Connecticut College career and volunteered at the aquarium during all four years," said Richard, who has worked as a trainer at the aquarium since he graduated.
Right now, Richard is investigating seasonal variation in male beluga whale reproduction and has five different males from aquariums in the United States and Canada participating in the study.
"Being a beluga whale trainer is not as glamorous as it sounds," Richard warned. "You have to be willing to get dirty, work weekends and holidays and scuba dive regularly to clean the exhibits."
Hanks hopes to one day get a job where she can work with as many different species of animals as possible. Richard said she has been great at engaging the crowds who come to watch the whales as part of the aquarium´s educational programming.
"I have learned so much already from my internship," she said. "I´ve learned that there is an actual, proven science behind animal training and that it is far more difficult and complicated than I ever thought possible."
A day in the life of a beluga whale intern
07/8/2009
Emily Hanks ´10 with ´Inuk´ at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration.
"Enrichment is basically anything that breaks up the whale´s day," says Hanks, one of the majority of students who take advantage of a stipend of up to $3,000 available to every student at Connecticut College who is interested in a junior year internship.
The unique internship program, which has been highlighted by USA Today and Wall Street Journal, makes it possible for students to work with their dream organizations, even those that might not typically accept interns.
As a beluga whale intern at the Mystic Aquarium, Hanks, a biology and psychology double major, gets up bright and early to help with the aquarium´s three beluga whales.
And after she is done "enriching" all three, she turns her focus to Inuk, the male beluga serving as the subject of a behavioral research project she is conducting while at the aquarium.
"Emily´s project will increase our knowledge of beluga breeding behavior and may benefit the training that we do for artificial insemination," Justin Richard, a 2003 graduate of Connecticut College and Hanks´s mentor at the aquarium, said. "At the end of her internship, she will write a scientific paper and present her findings at the aquarium in a seminar setting."
In addition, Hanks feeds the whales and provides visual, audio and interactive enrichment - like ringing bells, producing wild beluga sounds, using mirrors, dancing and or even getting right in the water to desensitize the whale to any stimuli they might encounter when guests come to visit.
"I have the chance to rub the whale down all over its body, give it tongue rubs and I´ve even been able to give a whale a hug," she said.
Hanks, who has volunteered at the aquarium since freshman year, hopes to turn her experience into an independent study, just as her mentor did when he was a student at the College.
"I was an intern twice during my Connecticut College career and volunteered at the aquarium during all four years," said Richard, who has worked as a trainer at the aquarium since he graduated.
Right now, Richard is investigating seasonal variation in male beluga whale reproduction and has five different males from aquariums in the United States and Canada participating in the study.
"Being a beluga whale trainer is not as glamorous as it sounds," Richard warned. "You have to be willing to get dirty, work weekends and holidays and scuba dive regularly to clean the exhibits."
Hanks hopes to one day get a job where she can work with as many different species of animals as possible. Richard said she has been great at engaging the crowds who come to watch the whales as part of the aquarium´s educational programming.
"I have learned so much already from my internship," she said. "I´ve learned that there is an actual, proven science behind animal training and that it is far more difficult and complicated than I ever thought possible."
For media inquiries, please contact:
Amy Martin, 860-439-2526, a.martin@conncoll.edu or Deborah MacDonnell (860) 439-2504, dmacdonn@conncoll.edu
