{"id":173934,"date":"2026-08-28T10:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=173934"},"modified":"2026-08-28T14:50:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T18:50:26","slug":"working-in-vacationland-batesies-reflect-on-maine-based-summer-internships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/28\/working-in-vacationland-batesies-reflect-on-maine-based-summer-internships\/","title":{"rendered":"Working in Vacationland: Batesies reflect on Maine-based summer internships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each summer, Bates students engage in professional internships. This year, 133 students completed internships with support from the Center for Purposeful Work. These included access to Bates-specific paid internships with employer partners in diverse industries and locations, as well as opportunities to apply for a summer stipend for any unpaid or low-paying internship, including at nonprofits that don\u2019t have the budget to hire interns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some students \u2014 41 to be exact \u2014 were able to complete that work in Maine, aka Vacationland. Work ranged from outdoor leadership to immigrant rights advocacy to marine research, and offered opportunities to engage more deeply with the communities that help shape Bates students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are highlights from a few of the students who completed Maine-based internships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"intern
Kazumi Haag ’28 of College Park, Md., spent her summer at the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An environmental studies and politics double major, Kazumi Haag \u201928 of College Park, Md., worked off the coast of Rockland at the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. The 125-acre that serves as a place-based environmental research and education-focused center. Haag spent time studying the population health of early benthic (juvenile) lobsters and working on the aquaculture farm focused on scallops and oysters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpending time on Hurricane this summer gave me hands-on fieldwork skills and independence that I have not experienced before,\u201d Haag said. \u201cFrom lobstering to learning about scallop anatomy to driving boats, Hurricane has shown me why law and policy to protect our marine spaces matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"intern
Kazumi Haag ’28 of College Park, Md., on the water off Acadia National Park this summer. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Haag plans to attend law school to focus on environmental law and policy. Following her internship, she imagines working specifically on marine protection.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"intern
Simona Muscarella \u201927 of Buffalo, N.Y., stops for a quick shot while on an adventure as a social media and marketing intern for Apogee Adventures. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Like Haag, Simona Muscarella \u201927 of Buffalo, N.Y., spent her summer enjoying nature while developing new skills as a social media and marketing intern for Apogee Adventures, based in Brunswick. Muscarella guided student trips across New England and in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have learned so much about marketing,\u201d Muscarella said, \u201cwhile also having the ability and luxury of going outside and camping\/helping leaders on trips with their students.\u201d It was hard to find a photo with Muscarella \u2014 a rhetoric, film, and screen studies major \u2014 in the shot; she was usually on the other side of the lens, taking the pictures of the camping and exploring that she helped facilitate.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"intern
Hannah Herbst ’28 of Larkspur, Calif., spent her summer working at The Telling Room supporting children’s writing. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Though Hannah Herbst \u201928 of Larkspur, Calif., spent more time indoors, her days were filled with imaginative energy as she worked as an intern at The Telling Room \u2014 Portland-based, nationally-recognized creative youth development nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An English major, she assisted with curriculum design and implementation while also working directly with student writers during summer camps. The Telling Room, based in Portland, engages students ages 6 to18 in creative writing, and as a teaching intern, Herbst had the opportunity to watch them \u201cgrow as writers and learners over the weeks during their readings and performances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThis experience has helped me flex my creative muscles in a professional environment and learn more about the ways in which I can apply these skills to my future career,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maine Immigrants Rights\u2019 Coalition, based in Portland, hosted three Batesies this summer: Tuna Durna \u201928 of Istanbul, Erica Jenkins \u201928 of Summit, N.J., and Drew Jean Baptiste \u201928 of Montvale, N.J.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenkins worked to edit and write policy briefs, assist in speech writing, and track the status of legislation from the 132nd Maine Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"student
Erica Jenkins ’28 of Summit, N.J., gained experience this summer at Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a pre-law student,\u201d Jenkins said, \u201cand being able to understand the nonprofit sector of human rights has been a valuable experience that has shown me how policy intersects with everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"student
Tuna Durna ’28 of Istanbul at his summer internship with Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Durna, an economics and politics double major, similarly supported communications projects including media outreach and meeting with coalition members. A memorable experience for Durna involved operating the ICE Watch Hotline during a busy time. \u201cI had to remain calm, listen carefully, collect accurate information, and help connect callers with appropriate support during stressful situations,\u201d Durna said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"student
Julia Young ’28 of Westborough, Mass., working in the Jackson Laboratory as a part of her internship. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Julia Young \u201928 of Westborough, Mass., a summer interning for the Jackson Laboratory in Acadia National Park helped clarify future goals. Young worked in the Tewhey Lab, a part of the Jackson Laboratory composed of human geneticists, molecular biologists, and computational scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am very interested in going to an M.D.\/Ph.D. program in the future, so working in the Tewhey Lab has been super inspirational and really grown my love for research, especially in the genetics field,\u201d Young said. Young primarily worked in the wet lab performing experiments and assisted in ATAC-Seq procedures for primate fibroblast cell lines. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"student
Paige Durant ’28 of South Dartmouth, Mass., with a large tuna as a part of her summer work at University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Though Paige Durant \u201928 grew up on a working waterfront in South Dartmouth, Mass., her internship with University of Maine\u2019s Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory, based in Portland, offered \u201ca glimpse into the complicated nature of fisheries management and the immense amount of work it takes to align science, policy, culture, and lived experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working both in the lab and in the field collecting samples to understand the life history of Atlantic bluefin tuna, Durant collaborated with both scientists and fishers. \u201cThrough this internship, I’ve solidified my interest in the relationships between environment and society, especially through the lens of culture and values,\u201d Durant said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each summer, Bates students engage in professional internships. This year, 41 students were lucky enough to intern in Maine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1917,"featured_media":173998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_estimated-read-time":"","_post-template":"\/usr\/local\/webserver\/webpve\/htdocs\/new-www.bates.edu\/wp-content\/themes\/b\/news\/single-big-header-image.php","_header-color":"","_photo-credit":"","_header-effect":"","override_related_with_tag":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[1,44],"tags":[12356,12464],"class_list":["post-173934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batesnews","category-enewsletter","tag-center-for-purposeful-work","tag-summer-internship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1917"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173934"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174136,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173934\/revisions\/174136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}