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Swimming with the Dolphins

During Kristin's junior year she had an amazing opportunity to work with dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

“Did you get to swim with the dolphins?” is a continual question that Kristin Lee, a James Madison University student, must answer when people learn that she interned at the Baltimore Aquarium. While this senior psychology major says that it was awhile before she was allowed to “feed and play with the dolphins under trainer supervision,” this was not Kristin’s first experience working with marine animals.

In high school, Kristin attended camp at Sea World - San Antonio. It was this experience that initially spurred her interest in pursuing a career in animal training. After learning that many animal trainers major in psychology, she decided to take an introductory class in high school and came out with only excitement for a degree in psychology. Kristin has already found her background in psychology a helpful tool for training animals. “Animal training is based on learning principles that are taught in psychology. I was able to apply some of these techniques to my experiences at Baltimore,” she says

As previously alluded, many people are often misled about the patience that must be taken when interacting with marine animals, such as dolphins. Kristin says, “My interactions with the dolphins started slow, with me crouching next to another trainer while the trainer fed them. The dolphins had to get used to seeing me around before I could safely interact with them…I definitely learned a lot from watching them [though].” A typical day at her internship also included a tremendous amount of cleaning. “A lot of people are surprised by how much cleaning is done in this profession, but the animals’ health is the top priority, so it must be done,” she says.

However, cleaning proved to be the least of Kristin’s challenges while interning at the Baltimore Aquarium. During her internship, she cared for a dolphin that required extra attention due to a respiratory infection. Kristin says, “For several hours during the day, I sat in a chair and just observed him, counting his respirations and noting his behavior.” Despite the constant care of the animal staff, the dolphin passed away. “Even though I had only been interning for eight weeks, I was devastated. I appreciated the experience because I had the opportunity to see what it takes to care for a sick animal, and watch the trainers deal with the loss of an animal they loved,” she says.

By serving as a counselor at the same camp that ignited her passion for animal training, Kristin was able to feed the fuel of others’ interests in the same field. As a counselor at Camp Sea World- San Diego in the summer of 2005, she worked extensively with high school students who were focused on a future career at the park. “Some of their activities included preparing food for penguins and interacting with them in their habitat… cleaning the bat ray pool, preparing the fish buckets for the killer whale trainers,” she says, “The best part was seeing their faces light up when they learned something or experienced something new.”

Even though Kristin chose to major in psychology, she says that she has seen others in the field that have majored in various other areas, such as marine biology, communications, and marketing. The most important thing, Kristin says, is to “major in something that you are interested in... If you are not studying something you enjoy, you will not be motivated to put time into your education.” While Kristin enjoys psychology, it was an extra bonus to have found a department that supported her pursuits. “The entire department has been helpful…They were kind enough to give me academic credit for my internship,” she says. Even with the extra support, Kristin advises students: “Above all, do not give up on your dream! I applied to several jobs and internships before I was offered the one at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.”