Meet our Summer 2023 Collections Interns

Written by Maclaren Johnson, Coral Rankin, and Adam Stergis

This past summer granted us the privilege of hosting two more interns in Collections out at MSC, and both Coral and Maclaren have both been very welcome additions to our team. Having both worked with invertebrates in Dr. Jonathan Allen's Lab at William & Mary, they were eager to see the wide diversity of specimens we have out here in the collections at MSC. During their time here, they have made great progress in topping off many specimen lots in our echinoderm and coral collections that have needed some TLC during our time away from the lab a few years ago. Not only that, but they have also helped process and sort new acquisitions of material coming in from cruises and donations. It is always a pleasure having interns in our lab, and we wish Coral and Maclaren all the very best on their paths in science! 

My name is Maclaren Johnson, and I am a rising sophomore at William & Mary planning to study conservation and marine science and working in the Allen lab on echinoderms. This summer has been such an amazing learning opportunity for me. I have always loved the NMNH, so getting to combine it with my love of marine invertebrates and work behind-the-scenes has been incredible. I have mainly been making sure that the echinoderm and coral collections are up to standards, topping off alcohol and replacing gaskets and neck labels, but have also gotten to unpack and rehouse new and uncatalogued specimens, which has been a highlight. This internship has given me an invaluable look into the hugely important work of museums, which, as someone hoping to pursue ecological research, is close to my heart. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here, and I can’t wait to apply everything I’ve learned to my future endeavors in marine science!

My name is Coral Rankin, and I will be a sophomore studying biology at William & Mary this fall. I have learned so much at the Museum Support Center this summer by working on maintaining the echinoderm and hydroid collections, along with rehousing crustacean specimens. Another exciting experience I had was helping to unpack marine invertebrate specimens of all kinds just a few days after they were collected on a field expedition. During my internship, I was able to take advantage of some wonderful tours of the MSC and NMNH including the mammal, insect, and geological collections. It was also enlightening to hear about the research, roles, and journeys of everyone working in the IZ lab. My experience as an intern at the MSC gave me insight into what it takes to maintain museum collections and further sparked my interest in animal biology. It was amazing to observe so many different species and the variation between all of them right in front of me. I’m looking forward to continuing my work with marine invertebrates in the Allen Lab at W&M this year.