Summer Internship Reflections: Juan Gordon Jr.

July 26, 2025 NC State University

Juan collects wind speed data for the butterfly technicians.

This reflections blog was written by 2025 SE CASC Summer Science and Communication Intern, Juan Gordon.

When I first applied for the SE CASC summer internship, I honestly did not know what I was going into. I had done climate change research at my home institution, Savannah State University, and I was confident that my previous work had prepared me. But, studying science communication was new to me. I knew what science communication was, but this summer I learned the fundamentals and prepared myself to bring these skills back to my home institutions’ sciences this fall.

I arrived the 28^th of May and we had classes focusing on science communications with Michelle and data science with Gabrielle, including coding. I came in with a basic understanding of R Studio but our classes with Gabrielle using bumble bee data was one of my best experiences this summer. She did a great job of breaking down the fundamentals and building upon that and was a great teacher and friend throughout the summer. Michelle was a jack of all trades, training us on writing, interview tips, and more.

Juan examines Magnificent Ramshorn snail recovery.

This internship is tailored, and I tell everyone I’ve recommended that twelve students can intern and have twelve different experiences, but all will come out better than they came in. Joleen, my fellow intern, also made my experience being a great friend and mentor. She is always there to help, and I cherish the memories we have shared this summer.

There was no shortage of field work, either. One of my favorite days was bee keeping. Joleen and I headed to a bee keeping site on the east side of campus. This field day helped us connect the dots with the data wrangling of bumble bee data with Gabrielle. We helped repair bee boxes and checked for mites through sampling. We took 50 bees from each colony and shook them in an alcohol filled jar then saw what colonies had mites left behind in their jars and took document. We met a team of bee scientist and spent hours talking about are interest and goals and what science has done for us.

A bee-selfie with Joleen (left) and Juan (right).

This was an unforgettable internship experience in data science and science communication. This opportunity gave me a new perspective on science as a communicator and in the world of academia. I met amazing people, got exposed to real fieldwork, and found a supportive environment that encouraged me to grow on both a professional and personal level. Whether you’re passionate about storytelling science, curious about environmental research, or just want to spend a summer in Raleigh, North Carolina, I can’t recommend this internship enough.