A summer sea turtle internship helped senior Destiny Lepera find a new passion

If you have ever been walking along the beach in the summer and noticed three or four wooden posts marked off with brightly colored tape, you have crossed paths with a sea turtle nest.

Sea turtles bury their eggs under the sand, where they are kept warm and largely protected. After incubating for about 60 days hatchlings emerge from their shells and make the trek to the ocean. While mother sea turtles take care to bury their eggs above the water line to ensure a safe incubation, the journey to the ocean is a long and dangerous one which many hatchlings do not survive.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, five of the seven sea turtle species found around the world are threatened with extinction, two of which are critically endangered. In Surf City, North Carolina, the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Center (KBSTC) is committed to conserving and protecting these turtles, and this summer, senior Destiny Lepera dedicated herself to the cause as well.

Lepera is majoring in Wildlife Biology with a specialization in Wildlife Rehabilitation and a minor in Psychology. When it came time to begin thinking about internships she knew she wanted to work with an organization that would allow her to continue doing the kinds of hands-on work with wildlife patients she had been doing as a student at the May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on campus. Her love of sea turtles and professional interest in conservation and education made the role at KBSTC a great fit.

Throughout the day, interns also completed various rotations. One day might involve leading public tours of the facility, while the next might involve locating and marking a nest, administering fluids and medications to the patients, or maintaining the center’s salt water and water filtration systems.

While Lepera said the rehabilitation process for the turtles is very different than for the types of animals she often cares for on campus—turtles tend to have simpler injuries that are quicker to treat—there were plenty of similarities that allowed her to pull from the knowledge she has developed here at Lees-McRae. The centers use the same database for patient information, for instance, and many of the hard skills translate to wildlife care across species.

“When I started [administering fluids] to the turtles, and they were like, ‘you give it here,’ I was like, ‘oh wait, I know how to do that. I’ve done it on box turtles.’ It’s really similar, and that was one thing that prepared me a lot,” she said. “A lot of the other interns don’t have that prior experience, and they might have a little bit of nerves, so I was really lucky in that aspect.”

The most important lesson she learned, however, was about her future career goals. Although this was her first time working with marine life, Lepera said she wants to continue working with turtles or other ocean animals in the future.

“Aquatics are something I have become super interested in. This internship has also expanded my horizons to other aspects of sea turtle work like the beach portion. I knew it was important to protect the nest, but I didn’t know how far it went and the steps it takes to protect it,” she said. “Lees-McRae and this internship have made me step out of my comfort zone. That’s always been something I have been scared to do, and Lees-McRae gave me that push, but Karen Beasley’s gave me a giant push.”

Lepera, left, completed her internship August 8, but stayed at the center in Surf City for a few extra days to participate in the filming of a television show with Jeff Corwin, the wildlife conservationist and television host. This #conservation work for protected #seaturtles at #KBSTC is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 26ST05