Promoting Interest in

Ocean Sciences Through

Partnerships Between

a College, Aquarium, and

Nonprofit Organization

The current Marine Science course offerings at Suffolk

County Community College (SCCC) include:

• Introduction to Oceanography

• Marine Biology

• Marine Habitat Ecology

All of these courses are for non-majors. The faculty at

SCCC have developed a variety of activities to engage

these students and recruit them into the field of Marine

Science. Many of the activities involve partnerships with

a local aquarium: The Long Island Aquarium &

Exhibition Center, a local nonprofit organization: The

Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and

Preservation, and a four year university: The State

University of New York at Stony Brook.

Methods

We engage students and encourage their interest in Marine

Science through a variety of activities:

•Marine Science Club

•Invited Guest Speakers

•Field Trips

•Internships

We would like to thank the Riverhead Foundation

for Marine Research and Preservation, the Long

Island Aquarium and Stony Brook University for all

of their support.

Jean R. Anastasia1 and Marianne McNamara

Suffolk County Community College

Selden, NY

Background

Results

Future Plans

Acknowledgements

•Increase our post-graduation contact with alumni to

track their progress in pursuit of a career in Marine

Science and monitor the success of our efforts.

•Increase participation in our internship programs

and develop an internship course specific to Marine

Science Interns

•Develop a research internship with Stony Brook

University faculty.

•Develop a Marine Science Major at SCCC

1

2

3

4

5

We sent out surveys to approximately 15 students that

participated in the Marine Science Club and our

internship programs.

• Only 4 alumni responded but all respondents said

that the internships, club participation, seminar

series and field trips were positive experiences.

• One of the students that interned at the Riverhead

foundation said the following:

“having the opportunity to work with the

Riverhead Foundation has helped me make the

decision to get a Masters in Marine Science”

Internships

Invited Guest Speakers

Field trips

Marine Science

Club

For students who want to be even more immersed in

the field of Marine Science, we offer internship

opportunities at the Riverhead Foundation and the

Long Island Aquarium.

Field trips are run either through the courses at SCCC

or through the Marine Science Club. The goals of

these trips are to expose students to a variety of local

marine habitats & organisms and provide experiences

related to careers in the marine sciences.

The Marine Science Club is advised by Dr. Marianne

McNamara and is a student run organization. The

club allows students with an interest in Marine

Science to meet like-minded students and get more

involved. This club has hosted guest speakers and led

field trips on research vessels and to perform a dolphin

necropsy.

Every semester, the Biology Department at SCCC

hosts an Outreach Program consisting of a series of

guest speakers. We have had speakers from the

Riverhead Foundation, Stony Brook University and

the Blue Ocean Institute, among others. We have also

had alumni return to talk to students. The lectures are

very well attended and students are exposed to various

jobs and fields of study within the Marine Sciences.

2a

2b

2c

2d

From Left to Right: Tom Wilson from Stony Brook University discusses research

vessels; SCCC Alumni Marco Ponzo, AJ Fiske & Kevin Gandhi talk to SCCC

students about life at Stony Brook University; Dr Joseph Warren from Stony Brook

University discusses whale feeding behaviors

Students from the Oceanography and Marine Biology classes visit the Long Island

Aquarium and explore the Peconic Bay and its beaches on the Aquarium’s Explorer

Tour Boat

Steve Abrams from Stony Brook University shows students the catch of the day from

the Long Island Sound on the RV Seawolf (left); students explore Moriches Bay on a

cruise from Stony Brook University’s Southampton Campus (center and right).

Students from the Marine Science Club participate in a dolphin necropsy at the

Riverhead Foundation and get to actually see the counter-current heat exchange

system.

Ocean Science Meetings

Honolulu, Hawaii

2014

1 contact person email: anastaj@sunysuffolk.edu

Interns working with sea turtles and seals at the Riverhead Foundation (left and

center) and helping students seine in the Peconic Bay during a trip run by the

Long Island Aquarium (right).