PA Sea Grant Welcomes Summer Interns

Bailey is a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in environmental science and political science with a minor in Spanish.

Bailey has been very involved with sustainability and research issues at school. This past spring she and a team of students worked on a sustainability project, providing campus tours on Pitt’s sustainability initiatives for incoming students. The team also submitted a proposal to the Assistant Director of Communications for Pitt’s Sustainability Team, Laura Jellum, with potential changes to be made to Pitt’s sustainability website. She has also been an undergraduate research assistant for the political science department.  

She enjoys researching, presenting to crowds, and learning as much as she can about the environment.  

“During this internship I hope to help facilitate non-formal and formal education to further promote environmental literacy for those who my work may reach,” Deusenberry said. “In turn, I know that this will be a valuable experience for me to better my own knowledge and understanding of how crucial environmental literacy is in today’s world.”

Bailey is assisting Michelle Niedermeier, Education Lead, in the development of a new online Great Lakes Literacy Education Exploration, or GLee, focusing on harmful algae blooms in the Great Lakes.

Natalie is a rising senior at Pennsylvania State University. She is a community, environment, and development major with a sustainability leadership minor and has a certificate in international studies.

 Natalie has been very involved with sustainability and outreach initiatives at Penn State. She has been both a Resident Assistant Coordinator and a First-year Seminar Assistant Program Coordinator for EcoReps, a group of student ambassadors who promote the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, where she promoted these objectives among first-year students, collaborated with PepsiCo and planted 63 trees for every three-point shot made by the Penn State Men’s and Women’s basketball teams in January 2025, and gave a presentation that reached over 1,500 first-year students. She has also been a teaching assistant for two classes — Wicked Problems Like Inequality, Sustainability & Climate Change: What’s the Right Thing to Do? and Gentrification in Everyday Life — which have taught her how to communicate more effectively with different groups of people. 

She enjoys doing research, writing, and anything that allows her to be outside. 

“This summer I hope to find a way to showcase my passion for the water and Lake Erie’s health to others, allowing them to learn more about the lake,” Kitts said. “I want to find a way for everyone to learn and keep learning about the importance of native plants and the damage that invasive species can cause.”

Natalie is assisting Amber Stilwell, coastal outreach specialist, in updating and revising outreach materials and resources and assisting in general outreach efforts. She is excited to help educate people about AIS while also hoping to learn something new herself every day. 

Ripley is a 2025 graduate of Penns State Erie, the Behrend College, receiving Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He is planning on attending the University of South Alabama graduate school in the fall to study the neural mechanisms of avian migration in White-crowned sparrows.  

Ripley begins the internship already having a great deal of involvement with the Natural History Museum, specimen identification and collection. He has volunteered with the museum for the past two years, which taught him about the position’s workload and museum protocol. He also worked with the Erie Bird Observatory, which allowed him to spend time outdoors in Presque Isle State Park and Erie County observing and identifying local biodiversity. 

Ripley enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring his inherent curiosity about the world.  

“I am most excited to be working with collecting and preserving museum specimens and being involved in public outreach,” Kindervater said. “I’m looking forward to learning new skills, like scientific note taking and data management, and experiences that will help me excel in graduate school.”

Ripley is assisting Mark Lethaby, Museum Curator for the Natural History Museum at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, to maintain species databases and preserve specimens, and to participate in outreach events.

He is looking forward to learning new skills, like notetaking and data management, and having new experiences that will help him excel in graduate school and beyond.  

Grace is a rising senior at James Madison University, minoring in Media Arts and Design with a journalism concentration and minoring in biology.

Grace has been very involved with scientific communication and digital content creation. At James Madison University, she is an active health and wellness columnist for her school newspaper, The Breeze, as well as a photographer. She is a biology teaching assistant and helps facilitate introductory laboratory work. Additionally, she is the historian chair and social media co-chair for her STEM sorority, Alpha Omega Epsilon, where she documents the group’s events and manages its online presence. Grace is also the chief White House producer for AKSM Media where she coordinates media and edits articles.  

She enjoys writing, photography, creating content and helping others learn more about complex topics, such as science. 

“I hope to learn more about making scientific research and discoveries more accessible and meaningful,” Sawyer said. “I think that making science digestible helps people become more passionate about the world around them and aware of how they may be impacting their environment, which is how we can effectuate real change.”

Grace is assisting Kelly Donaldson, Communications Lead, in writing profile stories, project spotlights, and visual content to increase public awareness of the programs, activities, and topics that Pennsylvania Sea Grant focuses on.

This summer she is excited to work on a multitude of projects including profile articles, educational videos, public resource enhancement and social media management.