By Isabelle Chiu
Staff Writer
From the classroom to the Roundhouse Aquarium on the Manhattan Beach Pier, senior Troy Gamble and junior Brice Jones follow their passions for marine biology.
Gamble and Brice Jones both volunteer in the Roundhouse Aquarium’s volunteer program, and they are required to volunteer for at least two hours every week. They can be found feeding or answering questions about the sea creatures that are home to the aquarium on Tuesdays and Wednesdays respectively, and they each work a two-hour shift once a week from 3-5 p.m.
“We want to give students the opportunity to extend their knowledge and their skills and maybe find out if they’re interested in marine biology,” Roundhouse Aquarium’s Volunteer and Education Coordinator Brittney Olaes said. “It’s good to get experience so that when they go to college, they will have actual experience in the field.”
Gamble has been volunteering at the Roundhouse Aquarium for over an year. He initially began volunteering in the second semester of his junior year to fulfill the hours needed for his health class. However, he decided to continue volunteering because he enjoyed being around the sea animals..
“After finding my passion for marine biology, I decided to stick with it, and here I am still volunteering a year later,” Gamble said. “I’ve learned a lot from this experience and I really enjoy helping out.”
On the other hand, Jones has been volunteering for five months. He has wanted to volunteer at the Roundhouse Aquarium since he discovered his passion marine biology during his freshman year after seeing that his favorite YouTuber, Ryen Lung, had a saltwater fish tank. Jones was interested by the tank and eventually started up his own salt water tank to care for at his house.
“I decided to volunteer because I love marine life,” Jones said. “I’m currently taking the marine biology class at Costa and I just wanted to get to know more people and I was interested in the Roundhouse Aquarium because it was local.”
Half of the time volunteering at the Roundhouse is spent asking people if they have questions about any of the organisms, and the other half is spent doing more hands-on activities such as feeding the animals and cleaning. The beginners will scrub the tanks, and with more experience be able to feed some of the organisms with shrimp. Gamble, who is more experienced, feeds the tiger shark with fish heads.
“The volunteers are a huge aspect of aquarium, and they help with talking to public and make sure things are running in the aquarium,” Olaes said. “It’s always great to have an extra hand.
To apply for the volunteer position students must submit an application online with questions about one’s interests and availability to volunteer. Applicants are required to work for at least two hours every week for three months, although according to Olaes, over 60% of volunteers hold the position for longer. Olaes says that applicants are chosen based on whether they display an interest in marine biology and if their available hours match what the aquarium needs.
“I think I was selected because I really spent a lot of time on my application because I really wanted to volunteer there,” Jones said. “I put down that I have my own tank because I know that the volunteers clean the tank and feed the fish which is basically what I do with my own tank at my house.”
Both Gamble and Jones plan to continue volunteering at the Roundhouse Aquarium until they leave for college. They both intend to take their passion for marine biology beyond high school by majoring in marine biology in college. Jones wishes to go to college in San Diego and work at the San Diego Aquarium as a college student one day.
“I’m going to apply there and if I get accepted then I’ll probably go to San Diego and work at the aquarium there,” Jones said. “I really do love Marine Bio and would love to be a marine biologist one day.”
Jones and Gamble said that through volunteering at the Roundhouse Aquarium, they have strengthened their communication skills since they have to do a lot of public speaking.
“I really hope that the volunteers have a lot of fun and that they learned a lot about the ocean and environment and the importance of the ocean,” Olaes said. “Volunteering here includes learning about marine biology, but it’s also about getting work experience and growing into an adult.”
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