MEET OUR INTERNS

Name: Alexander Searfoss --2nd year ECI intern
Hometown: Mishawaka, Indiana
Education: Senior at Manchester University
Major: Environmental Studies and Biology
Minor: Criminology
Hobbies: Fishing, Hiking, and Wrestling
Professional Goals: I plan on graduating from Manchester University and then going out into the field and gaining experience before going to graduate school and working on receiving a masters. While I have an interest in fisheries and limnology, I want to explore what the rest of this field has to offer.
Internship Summer Project: My project this summer is to examine the data from the experimental fish ladder located on the Stockdale Dam to determine the optimal conditions that drive fish to move upstream through the fish ladder.


Name: Kim Schraitle
Hometown: Richfield, Ohio
Education: B.S in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
Previous job positions: include preventing the introduction of dreissenid mussels to the Pacific Northwest as an Aquatic Invasive Species Inspector, managing Columbia River basin salmonid datasets as a fisheries Data Analyst and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technician, and teaching natural science-based field trip classes as a Field Station Assistant on Lake Erie.
Professional Goals: In collaboration with Central Michigan University and Ecosystems Connections Institute, I am seeking my Masters in Biology with a Concentration in Conservation at Central Michigan University. The focus of my work is aquatic ecology and submersed aquatic plant restoration in the Eel River for renewed habitat and sediment stability.
Master's Project: Eelgrass Reintroduction

Name: Bailey Miles 2018-2021
Hometown: Crown Point, Indiana
Education: Senior at Manchester University
Major: Biology and Environmental Studies
Hobbies: Playing football, playing video games, and fishing
Professional Goals: I would love to work for ECI the rest of my life. I enjoy training others in my field. Also, I would love to attend Central Michigan University.
Internship Summer Project: I have works for ECI for over 2 years. Over this summer I will be working on collecting all of the data from the study done on Beargrass Creek near North Manchester, Indiana. My research project is focused on best management practices for freshwater streams. A goal I want to accomplish in this field during the summer is to learn how to reduce the amount of nutrients being put into freshwater streams by agricultural pollution.

Name: Trey Hicks 2020
Hometown: South Whitley, Indiana
Education: Senior at Manchester University
Major: Environmental Studies technical track
Hobbies: Writing and Gaming
Professional Goals: My professional goal is to work as a herpetologist. To achieve this goal, I plan to attend graduate school for a Master’s Degree.
Internship Summer Project: My summer research project to examine if there is an effect of the Stockdale dam on the diversity of amphibians and reptiles. I will be conducting a detailed survey and making comparisons of amphibians and reptiles in the pool above the dam for 2 kilometers and downstream of the dam for 2 kilometers.