|
by Kate Suek
If making copies, answering the phone and getting coffee are your idea of a good internship, the Divers Alert Network® Research Internship program is not for you. But if working with the top professionals in their fields, exploring many facets of the dive industry and gaining legitimate work experience in a friendly work environment pique your interest, continue reading.
In 1999 the DAN Research Internship program began by collecting data for Project Dive Exploration (PDE), an observational research study that collects and analyzes dive profile data on real dives and compiles data on behavioral and health aspects associated with recreational diving. The program has also provided experience for college-age students who have an interest in diving or related careers.
Through the program, interns become DAN’s links to the diving public; they collect data, participate in research and communicate the importance of dive safety. Interns first receive training in dive medical research, methodology, physiology and data collection.
Four others and I began internships at DAN in mid-May. The weeklong intensive training program at the DAN headquarters in Durham, N.C., provided us with information on past and current research and trained us in classes such as DAN’s Hazardous Marine Life Injuries and Oxygen Administration courses.
The week concluded with a trip to the N.C. coast to Wilmington to enjoy the sun, dive and collect PDE data. During the trip, the interns applied skills learned during training, applying them to active divers on a dive boat. Under the supervision of internship coordinator Donna Uguccioni, they collected diver profiles.
Following the training week, three interns journeyed to host sites in southern California, Grand Cayman and Scotland; they completed their internships by collecting PDE data. Another intern and I remained at DAN headquarters to work on various research projects.
At DAN, Research Director Neal Pollock, Ph.D., acted as my mentor. He is at the forefront of dive research, completing studies on breath-hold diving, remote oxygen administration and NASA oxygen prebreathing procedures, among others. On my first day, Pollock made it made it clear that this internship would not be a walk in the park, but rather it would be in large measure hands-on.
To accomplish as much as possible during my five months with DAN, I accepted every project and used each as a learning experience. This would help me direct my passions and, ultimately, my career search.
Since I had expressed an early interest in writing, Pollock introduced me to Alert Diver editor Dan Leigh, who helped develop and hone my writing skills for the magazine and, with Pollock, allowed me to edit, review and write for upcoming issues.
By the end of the internship, I had one article published, another slated for publication and a third in development. Once published, I will use these articles as writing samples in my job search. This was just the first taste of a possible career path, which made me curious about other options.
In DAN’s multifaceted organization, several varied departments operate under one roof. I always had the chance to try something new. I jumped at the chance to write for the communications and business strategy departments. For the latter, I wrote in a different format from before, exploring how DAN markets its products and classes, but also its brand.
At the Duke hyperbaric chamber, I joined the flying after diving (FAD) research study, meeting the chamber medics, technicians and nurses. I participated in the FAD study and learned how the study worked. When I expressed continued interest in the project, Pollock gave me the go-ahead to begin recording Doppler and ultrasound data. Collecting data on five experiment days and participating on two days, I developed insight into both the research projects and the participants.
Daily tasks ranged from reviewing grant proposals, doing library research to track down primary literature on various studies such as dive fitness, jellyfish stings and diabetes. After each project, I revised my outlook on my future, specifically things I would love to pursue and others in which I was not as interested.
Finally, my work with DAN made one thing perfectly clear: When you are excited to get to work every morning and you cannot predict the turns your day will take, your job does not feel like a job. I was fortunate to work in an organization that relishes its employees and motivates them in new and unique ways.
During my first day, I attended a staff meeting, at which employees discussed diving, listed progress reports by department and celebrated recent birthdays. Oh, and there was cake, (at DAN, there is always cake). When people enter the front door, they undoubtedly feel that family sentiment. Every day has a special holiday that is prominently displayed on a sign near the entrance. The holidays vary from “Wiggle Your Toes Day” to “National Cheesecake Day.”
If there is a reason to celebrate, they find it at DAN. Some are legitimate (like when the company reached 250,000 members in June) and others are just for fun (like when the N.C. heat had finally become so unbearable that the chief operating officer, Jeff Meyers, wearing his Jimmy Buffet hat, brought popsicles to everyone.
Working in such an enthusiastic environment has helped me to reevaluate what I want in a job and how I will approach my future endeavors.
The intensive time I spent interning at DAN provided the various tools, opportunities and connections I needed as a recent college graduate beginning a career search. Now with an address book full of email addresses and phone numbers and a résumé full of accomplishments and new goals, I can leave DAN knowing that I am prepared to tackle the future and that it looks a little less daunting than it did six months ago.
<
|