June 14, 2006

A-B Tech students Lisa Cook and Tina Mortier were selected for the North Carolina State Government Internship Program. The program is run by the Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office of the North Carolina Department of Administration.

According to the Governor’s office, 600 students from 82 counties and 79 post-secondary institutions applied for this year’s internships. Through a competitive selection process overseen by the North Carolina Internship Council, a total of 80 students were selected to work in projects in 18 departments and 41 divisions. Six of those students were from the North Carolina Community College System.

Cook is a student in the college transfer program. She will be a sea turtle research and education specialist at Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro. The internship is through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“I found out about this internship opportunity while taking a class with Sun Chae (Humanities and Fine Arts instructor),” she said. “I had been looking for an internship for some time. My goal was to find something that I could get paid doing.”

Over the summer, Cook will be staying on Bear Island at Hammocks Beach State Park. “During the early morning hours, another intern and I will patrol the beach on foot or by ATV,” she said. “We will tag loggerhead sea turtles that are nesting for the first time and monitor the nesting sites. A count of the hatchlings will also be taken.

“I just thought this would be a great opportunity for me. I think staying on the beach for the summer, riding on four-wheelers, and playing with sea turtles, and getting paid for it, is awesome,” she said.

Cook hopes to work in medicine and although this internship may not be working in healthcare, she still will gain experience in field biology.

Mortier is a student in the criminal justice program and will be an intern at the Marion Correctional Institute at Marion. The internship is through the Department of Correction. She will be a case manager at the prison. She also found out about the internship opportunity through Chae.

“It seems like it’s going to be really interesting,” Mortier said. “My goal was to find a career in probation/parole. Now that I know this job exists, I realize it has some similarities to my career interests. I will interview inmate clients and help try to set them up in programs designed to help them while incarcerated and when they get released. I will also help get them into programs that will help them cope with life on the ‘outside’ after being incarcerated for so long. I will also be cross training with other departments in order to get the big picture of corrections,” she said. “I am really excited about this opportunity.”