An Intern's Perspective

When I tell people I am working as an intern at SEA LIFE Minnesota, their response is usually “what a fun place to work” - and they are right about that! This summer, I had the privilege of working with the marketing and group sales departments, as well as other college interns.
Consequently, I have many new SEA LIFE facts up my sleeve, such as: sea stars eat by moving their stomachs out of their bodies and horse shoe crabs can survive one year without eating. Let me share with you some of the highlights of the SEA LIFE marketing internship.


ANIMALS, ANIMALS, ANIMALS!
You might be doing offsite events with Cub Foods and teaching families about shark jaws, shells, horseshoe crabs, pencil sea urchins and chocolate chip sea stars. You could be in the office writing a blog about the SEA STAR of the week, conservation or your internship experience. Or you could be working with animals as an animal husbandry intern (or displays as we call it). Patrick, a senior from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said his favorite part of the Displays Internship is the daily interactions with the animals and his scuba diving experience in SEA LIFE’S Atlantis Exhibit. His favorite animal at the aquarium is Lola, the shark ray, for the simple fact that she is cool to look at and has a lot of personality.


YOU WILL GET TO KNOW THE MALL AND ITS EMPLOYEES!
You could be running a coupon contest for the mall tenants and reward the winner with a breakfast or gift cards. You might be refilling coupons or replacing stickers within the mall and Nickelodeon Universe. Or you could go from store to store to let the employees know they get in for FREE.


YOU WILL WORK WITH THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND OTHER INTERNS!
You will be working on team projects with the marketing department such as planning and promoting an event, designing a flyer, or establishing partnerships with hotels in the area. All of the interns will work on various things together such as designing a hotel window display, surveying guests, or creating Sharky videos (we definitely had fun filming those).


My advice for future SEA LIFE interns would be to have an open mind and a good attitude because it will only make your experience better. Another important thing to remember is always treat your internship as if it’s your career because many of SEA LIFE's current employees started as interns.


I can assure you that your SEA LIFE intern experience will look great on your resume and you’ll enjoy it too! To find out more information go to http://www.visitsealife.com/about-us/careers.aspx Candidates must receive college credit.

*I had to say goodbye to the turtles on my last day!!

-KS
SEA LIFE Marketing Intern, from Concordia University- St. Paul