98 - From Water to Land: Evolving Career Skills and Interest at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District

My personal interest in life sciences have always remained in the health and mysteries of ocean life. While I still see myself being a marine biologist in the future, I believe it is important to be well rounded, and you should try to expose yourself to many fields of study. With this in mind, I applied and was accepted to be a Public Health Entomology for All (PHEFA) intern at the Salt Lake Mosquito Abatement District (SLCMAD). As a PHEFA intern at SLCMAD, my personal interests were heard and I was able to learn a large subset of skills that would be applicable to the entomological research I would be taking part in and also any future research in other fields. Beyond the efforts made by PHEFA and SLCMAD to foster my biological research skill set, I was presented with several opportunities to network and grow my professional connections which can be vital for success in anyone’s future. After having finished my internship, I can say that I am very grateful for the opportunities to have grown as a biologist and evolved my personal interests to incorporate mosquitoes and other insects, and here I will be discussing my internship experience.