Internship Site Spotlight 2019: Sarah Yang

Year 3 scholar Sarah Yang is completed her summer 2019 internship at the Catawba County Science Center in Catawba County, NC. Sarah’s supervisor, Erin Graves, says “Sarah was an awesome intern for us, particularly in staffing our seasonal Flutterby butterfly habitat. She taught visitors about the life cycles of the insect, their habitat needs, and their characteristics. She also helped facilitate magical moments for our visitors by helping them entice a butterfly to land on their fingers (with the help of a sugar solution). Sarah stayed joyful and helpful, even when hot and sticky!”

What do you enjoy most about your internship? I enjoy incorporating science with fun, engaged people who are interested in learning more about how science is used in our daily lives.

What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome so far in your internship? What tools did you use to overcome it? Working with butterflies was really difficult because I have a fear of butterflies, but what helped was establishing a professional relationship with them and by seeing the smiles of everyone visiting the butterfly house.

What aspect or element of the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program has been particularly helpful during your internship? The GLSLP has helped me be open-minded with the challenges that come my way and be flexible with those challenges. I have learned to be accepting of change and how this can shape me to be a better person and leader.

How has your internship enhanced your ability to move forward in your field of study? This internship has helped me appreciate the sciences and how there are innovative ways to get people, especially children, to learn the sciences. It has also helped me to understand the different aspects of the science field and that there are so many paths that I can take in biology.

Which professional-level skill(s) listed by your supervisor has/have proved to be the most challenging to develop? It was difficult to create new ways for people to be interested in the exhibits that we have at the science center. I have a new appreciation for teachers because they are able to teach and come up with new things to keep the subject interesting for their students.