Mucking stalls. Cleaning cages. Working with snakes and turtles. Feeding rabbits and scrubbing aquariums. During January Term (J-term), three Randolph-Macon College students learned firsthand that it takes a lot of work to keep Maymont, a 100-acre public park in Richmond Virginia, running smoothly.

RMC’s popular J-term provides students with an opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture, embark on an internship, conduct groundbreaking research or explore other areas of study on campus. This year, 1316 students participated in J-term, including internships, study-abroad, and on-campus courses.

Photos: J-term internships at Maymont

Sage Vilgats ’19, Mary Ellis ’17 and Julia Carson ’18 interned at Maymont, which houses the Maymont Mansion (a historic museum), an arboretum, formal gardens, a carriage collection, native wildlife exhibits, a Nature Center, and a children’s farm. Maymont’s Nature Center holds nearly 30,000 gallons of aquaria that showcase many of the animals, aquatic and terrestrial, that inhabit the waters and land of the James River and the Chesapeake Bay.

Under the guidance of Krista Weatherford, manager of environmental education, the interns served as animal keepers, working five days a week siphoning aquariums, cleaning animal enclosures, and conducting educational sessions for visitors.

Dedication + Communication
“Animal keeper jobs are not just fun,” says Weatherford, who coordinated the interns’ activities and provided orientation. “They require dedication because keepers must care for the animals in a variety of weather conditions, and on holidays and weekends. Sage, Mary and Julia learned a lot about public speaking and good communication as they worked on team projects, and with Maymont guests. These experiences also helped them to understand the types of employment available to them.”

Sage Vilgats ’19
In her hometown of Goodview, Virginia, Vilgats has worked at a small animal clinic for several years. She wanted an internship that would enable her to expand on that experience.

“I knew I wanted to work with lots of different animals,” says Vilgats, a biology major and chemistry minor who is following a pre-veterinary track. “At Maymont I interacted with a variety of animals, from rabbits to roosters.” Biology Professor Nicholas Ruppel helped arrange the internship through the college’s Bassett Internship program.

“Maymont has consistently been one of our best internship partners for students interested in becoming veterinarians,” says Ruppel. “Their combination of wildlife and domestic animal resources, plus a focus on public education, offers important hands-on experience to students like Sage who need these tools before applying to vet school.”

Mary Ellis ’17
Ellis, a biology major and chemistry minor, is a member of RMC’s Pre-health Society and Beta Beta Beta, a national biology honor society.

“As an intern, I worked full-time, and I saw firsthand what the day-to-day of the job involves,” says Ellis, who is also following a pre-vet track. “There was no ‘typical day,’ which made for an exciting month. From cleaning stalls to brushing goats to taking our ‘education animals’ off-site to let the public see them, it was an enriching internship—and an experience that will help me as I apply to graduate schools.”

Julia Carson ’18
Carson, an environmental studies major and education minor, worked with staff from The Edge, RMC’s four-year career preparation program, to polish her résumé and cover letter before she applied for the internship. Carson liked the fact that there was never a dull moment in her busy weeks as an intern.

“In addition to our other duties, we did craft set-ups for children who visited Maymont for field trips and camps,” says Carson, whose future plans may include graduate school. “On some days we cleaned goat and cow pastures on the farm, or we cleaned the Nature Center tanks and cages. This was my first internship and I could not be happier with my choice.”

From Intern to Aquarist
The interns also worked with Maymont aquarists—specialists who care for the aquatic species in an aquarium—including Delaney Sheire ’16. Sheire, who majored in biology and environmental studies, knows firsthand the value of internships. During her senior year at RMC, she interned at Maymont, working alongside three aquarists.

“RMC helped prepare me for my career in many ways,” says Sheire. “In addition to my internship, I conducted independent research, twice participated in the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, and helped maintain a Copley Science Center lab. Randolph-Macon enabled me to pursue what I am really passionate about: the environment.” Passing along some of her knowledge as an aquarist, Sheire taught the J-term interns how to prepare food for the Nature Center animals, how to feed aquatic turtles, and how to conduct water-quality testing.

“It was really cool to work with Sage, Mary and Julia,” she says. “They were very eager to learn, and it was a bonus to share my experiences with fellow Yellow Jackets. To think that I was in their position one year ago and am now a full-time Maymont employee is very humbling.”

RMC Internships
J-term internships offer a real-world setting for connecting academic learning with the workplace. RMC’s Edge Career Center and dedicated faculty assist students in finding the perfect internship opportunity. The Edge, an intensive four-year program that prepares students for life after college, gives students a competitive advantage in the job market or graduate-school admissions process. Workshops, internships, one-on one advising, a career and networking Boot Camp, and a host of other resources ensure that students who graduate from RMC are lifelong learners who can think critically and adapt to new situations.

RMC’s Bassett Internship program offers academic credit and connects students with tailor-made internships to explore a wide range of career fields in various locations. Students can also choose from a variety of paid or volunteer internship opportunities.