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: Joshua Long
Hometown: LaPorte, Indiana
Education: B.S. in Environmental Studies from Manchester University
Previous job positions: Following graduation, I worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Biological Science Technician collecting samples to inform Salmon stocking in Lake Michigan for a year. Following, I worked at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center as a Fisheries Research Technician focusing on larval fish for an additional year.
Professional Goals: These positions solidified my plans to further my formal education in the field of Natural Resources as a Master’s student at Central Michigan University. In collaboration with Central Michigan University and Ecosystems Connections Institute, my research is focusing on a dam removal in Logansport, IN. Following this dam removal, the entire Eel River will be connected to the Wabash River. My focus will assess the change of fish composition and tracking of fish movement between the two rivers.
Master's Project: Ecological Lift of a Fishladder Passageway
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: Tyler Hudson 2020
Hometown: Roann, Indiana
Education: Junior at Manchester University
Major: Environmental Studies
Minor: Computer Science
Hobbies: Kayaking, hiking
Professional Goals: A profession in limnology and or ecology
I Plan on attending graduate school, to obtain my master’s degree, gain experience and meet a network of people I can depend on to help achieve my goals.
Internship Summer Project: My project is to examine the effect of eel grass on fish communities in the Eel river
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.