Meet the Interns 2020-21

Luke Beckmann

My name is Luke Beckmann, and I was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. I chose to be an intern for the Stars to Starfish internship program because I am really interested in Marine ecosystems and how the ocean works. I am a visual learner and like to learn by working with things hands on which is why this class is a perfect fit. Riverview is very lucky to have this acquiescence program because a majority of the high schools across the country don’t have this feature.

Sebastian Beckmann

My name is Sebastian Beckmann, and I am a Senior at Riverview High School. I love being involved in marine life and learning new things everyday about marine biology. I believe that I would want to base my career of something to do with marine biology because it interests me so much. Stars to Starfish is an awesome thing I do because I get so involved with everything to do with marine biology.

Emma Bianco

Julia Bowser

Hi there! My name is Julia and I am a junior here at Riverview. I am very involved at our school and am a varsity Cheerleader, sports editor of the yearbook, member of marine and surf club, and of course a Stars to Starfish intern! I also maintain a job at West Marine and babysit occasionally for families and also during Sunday school at church. I was born in Virigina and moved to Sarasota during the 6th grade. I enjoy going to the beach, fishing/boating, and cleaning up our beach’s environments. In the future my goal is to study marine biology in college (hopefully in Hawaii), and get my doctorate. P.S. Fish are friends not food!

Jason Brzozowski

My name Jason. And I am a Senior at Riverview Highschool. I am in the Stars to Starfish program to further expand my knowledge with marine life and our local ecosystem. I love to go Fishing, boating, and spending time with my friends. I plan to study Criminology at FSU. My favorite Sea animal is a Tarpon.

Izabela Burns

Hi! I am Izy Burns. I am a senior at Riverview High School. I am the president of the RHS Marine Club. I host a lot of the community service events related to the ocean and our environment. I grew up right on the Phillippi Creek and within 5 miles of the beach so I have always been very involved with the ocean and improving my impact on it. I spend a lot of my free time scuba diving, kayaking, and taking care of fish.

Jeanni Castro

Hi, my name is Jeanni Castro, and I just transferred to Riverview High School for my senior year! I have lived in Sarasota my whole life and have always had a green thumb. My fondest memories consist of working in the garden with my father. I have been a Girl Scout for 13 years, and for my Silver Award, I educated preschool children on the importance of eating healthy. Afterwards, I created a hands-on experience with them, and we built a food forest together.

Brooklyn Cline

Hi, my name is Brooklyn. I am a senior at Riverview High School. I have been interested in Marine Science ever since I was young. I have been taking Marine Science with Mrs.Karasick since my sophomore year. She has pushed me out of my comfort zone by trying new things. Stars to Starfish internship interested me because I love teaching kids’ new things especially stuff that I am passionate about. I also love that we get to create our own projects and see them through from the start to the finish. After I leave Riverview, my goal is to get into UF and pursue a career in research.

Brianna Davenport

Hi, my name is Brianna Davenport and I’m a senior at Riverview High School. I’m a part of the Stars to Starfish education team. I joined the program because I wanted the opportunity to interact with kids. I love working with children and want to continue to even after high school. My plan is to become a Child and Family Social Worker, and because I lived in Sarasota Florida my whole life I what to go to college in state.

Tessa Etchison

My name is Tessa Etchison and I am a senior at Riverview High School. I am in the IBCP Program at Riverview and my career path is marine science. I love studying the ocean and ocean animals and I hope to do it as a career one day. On top of the Stars to Starfish to Starfruit internship I am also volunteering at Mote Marine on the weekends.

Jimmy Forway

My name is Jimmy Forway I am a senior at Riverview High School. This is my first year in the Stars to Star Fish internship at Riverview and I’m really looking forward to it. There is a group of us working on a project to buy kayaks and make a rack for them. This group of us is also raising sea anemone. I am excited about raising our own anemone and setting up the tank and filters. I really enjoy playing golf and soccer when I’m not in school I play soccer at FC Sarasota for the travel team. And play golf all around Sarasota and Lakewood.

Chloe Fox

Hi my name is Chloe Fox, I am a senior at Riverview High School. I am a  intern for the Stars to Starfish program, this program lets me work with marine life and I am always learning new things about marine science and our ecosystem. When im not at school, I love to spend my time getting creative with painting! I also travel a lot to Miami for modeling, I plan on moving there soon.

Halie Keech

Hi! My name is Halie Keech I am a senior at Riverview Highschool, and I also play for the girls golf team. I am apart of Stars to Starfish team, and I absolutely love marine science! I was born and raised here in Sarasota Florida and I love to go boating and going to the beach.

Adam Koehn

Hi, my name is Adam Koehn and I’m a senior at Riverview High School. I have been part of the marine science program since my sophomore year. I enjoy spending my time boating, fishing, and working to make money. I plan on attending FAU for college and after joining the United States Coast Guard to fulfill my passion for the ocean.

Regan Krzywicki

Hi! I am Regan Krzywicki and I am a senior at Riverview High. I grew up in Sarasota and have spent many of my days at the beach. I like taking care of the Aquadome at school and plan on having marine science in my future. I attend beach clean ups and other events to help better our environment.

Ella McMullen

Hello, my name is Ella McMullen and this is my last year at Riverview High school. I am a Senior here and I have always loved the school spirit of RHS. I play beach volleyball for my school. I love being on a team and helping others! That’s why I love the Stars to Starfish program so much. I like being with my peers and learning new things everyday about marine life. The ocean has always interested me. My favorite Marine animal is a starfish. I am so thankful to be in such an amazing program. Go Rams!

Peter Medico

Hi, my name is Peter Medico and I am a senior at Riverview High School. I have lived in Sarasota all my life and I have a love for the outdoors and the animals it contains. I plan to go to UF or USF to study biology then work in the veterinarian field of study. All wild animals are friends and we should be as nice to them as possible.

Elizabeth Natherson

Hi, My name is Elizabeth Natherson and I’m a senior at Riverview High School. I have been in the marine program at Riverview High School for three years now. Growing up on the water and living in Sarasota has made marine science a big part of my life. Dolphins have always been my favorite marine animal; they are curious, loving animals. This year I will be studying coral. Coral is my favorite organism to study; it is resilient and beautiful.      

Prashil Patel

Hi, my name is Prashil Patel and I am a senior here at Riverview High school, I like working out and playing football. I have been taking marine science since sophomore year and this class has always been very fascinating to me. The ocean has always been in my life whether it’s going to the beach or going boating. 

Mekiya Peoples

Some would say “he’s so full of himself” or “he thinks he is soooo above all of us” …….and for the most part….they’re right. When you look at a kid like me, it can be easy to judge, stare at, joke about, or just to walk by. Going through that was ruff….but so is standing around letting it happen. I have always said “make or break it” as in its up to you want you want to become in this life.

Andrew Pohl

Hello, my name is Andrew Pohl. I was born in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia, and moved to Sarasota my freshman year. I enjoy going to the beach and fishing. This year I look forward to working with fish and learning about the planet. I hope to create more awareness about invasive species.

Emily Richford

Hello everyone! My name’s Emily! I go to Riverview high school and I love it! I’m very involved in clubs here, including RHS Marine Club. I love learning about marine life and the ocean, and everything around it. I moved here a couple years ago from Illinois. From farmland to tropical Florida, it was a fun change. I used to vacation to Florida, so living here was the best thing to ever happen to me. I get amazing experiences and opportunities that were not available in Illinois, such as hands on experiences with wildlife. I love the beach so much and try to see every sunset possible. 

Javier Rivera

My name is Javier Rivera. I am a senior at Riverview high school. I have been taking marine science since junior year. I was born in Argentina and moved to Anna Maria Island when I was five. The ocean has been a big part of my life. Some hobbies of mine to do are fishing, surfing, skimboarding, and hanging with my friends.

Michael Russo

Michael Russo has been a successfully growing and propagating anemones and various species of corals for five years now and has had great success. He is an avid fisherman and is always in the marine environment. His passion for the marine environment has caused him to excel in various aspects of maintaining a viable coral grow out system to help reduce the stress the marine trade has put on the oceans. Every fragment of coral he grows was aquacultured and will stay within the marine trade to help save wild animals and corals from being harvested.

Dean Thompson

My name is Dean Thompson and I am a senior at Riverview high school. I have lived in Sarasota all my life and love to be on the water. I grew up boating and fishing so the stars to starfish program was perfect for me.

Savannah Tucker

Hi, my name is Savannah Tucker. I am a senior at Riverview High School in the IB diploma program. I decided to do starts to starfish because I was initially interested in marine biology and early childhood education, which fit the program description perfectly. Even though my career ideas changed I am still passionate about marine biology. This program offers a great hands on and interactive approach to learning about aquatic life. I grew up in a family of scientists, so this type of work is not out of the ordinary. I think this program is the perfect mix of education and fun.        

Gigi Veldkamp

Hi!! My name is Gigi Veldkamp, I am a Senior at Riverview high school, I moved to Sarasota when I was 7 and have loved it here ever since. I enjoy learning new things everyday about the ocean and the animals in it. My love for the ocean comes from my family. On the weekends we go out on the boat where we fish and dive.Over the summer my family and I go to the keys and dive the coral reefs. My love for the water and the things in it has become endless because of this.When I graduate, I plan to go to college and study to be a psychologist.

Jack Young

My name is Jack Young. I am a senior at Riverview High School. The freedom of creativity is what drew me to the stars to starfish internship. I am interested in pursing film in college and I have been ale to film a lot of interesting interactions in marine life. Surfing is a passion I have, and you can’t surf without the ocean so I like the ocean. I view the ocean as a gentle giant with the power it contains but how peaceful it can be.