Lauren Angeleri
Hello! My name is Lauren Angeleri and I am a senior here at Riverview. My love for the beach, ocean, and marine life started buy collecting shells as a kid with my parents. I pretty much grew up on a boat; diving, fishing, swimming etc… Being around such beautiful sea life here in Sarasota is what inspired me to take a marine biology class freshman year. Mr. Wasserman has been an amazing teacher and really helped me grow my knowledge in the field. Since then I have taken IB Marine science and am now part of Stars to Starfish. All of last year I was so excited to be a part of this internship because of the friends I had made in the previous class. Even though I wasn’t a star yet, Ms. Rudge and those people made me feel welcomed and I attended some of the shows and even helped in the Aqua Dome. I can’t wait for all the memories, experiences, and new skills I achieve from this class! In the future I plan to attend Florida Atlantic University and study business marketing, but of course will be right by the beach so I can explore the marine life there!
Andrew Arauz
Hi! My name is Andrew Arauz. I am a senior here at Riverview High School and I have taken marine science courses freshman, junior, and now senior year. I have always loved marine biology and especially marine animals. I am grateful to be able be involved in that here. In the future, I want to base my career around biology, particularly in animals. I have been looking forward to joining the program of stars to starfish ever since I heard about it, so I knew I had to join.
Gavin Bigi
My name is Gavin Bigi and I am senior at Riverview High School. I have lived near the ocean all my life. I up fishing And have been interested in marine life since I was a kid. I joined Stars to Starfish to learn more about marine life and become better at taking care of them.
Luis Calzadilla
My name Luis Calzadilla, I am 17 years old, I’m from Venezuela and I moved here about 3 years ago for a better future, I love animals and would love to become a veterinarian, I am a very friendly and loyal person and love to help people as well, I am very excited to start this program to interact with kids and animals.
Emily Campbell
Hi! My name is Emily Campbell, and I am an IB senior and Stars to Starfish intern. I have been a volunteer at Mote Marine for the past 3 years and love the beach and ocean animals. I enjoy scuba diving and have been on multiple diving trips including working on coral restoration in the Keys. I play tennis and work at a breakfast café. In the future, my goal is to study marine biology and make difference in our ocean.
Caelyn Curry
Hi there! I’m Caelyn Curry, an intern for the Stars to Starfish program and a senior at Riverview High School. The ocean and nature have always been an important part of my life, from being born in Nassau, Bahamas to participating in events at our local Mote Marine. I joined Stars to Starfish because it’s such a unique opportunity to learn hands on with marine animals, and the cute sharks don’t hurt either! I have interests in Mycology, Ecology, and Psychology and I’m hoping to combine those interests into a career in the future. I’ve sung in the Youth Opera for 8 years and love the program with my whole heart. I’m involved in various other clubs around Riverview, like Nature Trail, Marine Club, GSA, and Gaming Club.
Angela Dinh
Hi! My name is Angela Dinh, I’m from San Francisco, CA, and I am a Senior of class 2023. Moving to Florida made me fall in love with marine biology and its terrifying beauty. I joined Stars for Starfish to learn and explore more about the ocean and its inhabitants all together in their ecosystem, like a whole drastically different world yet to be fully understood. And what’s best about it is that I am able to work with such awesome teachers, people, and friends to take care of animals I love to see and/or learn about. I intend to study and work in the marine field in the future, including other opportunities to make a difference to not only others, but also my home here on earth.
Marissa Fraser
Hi, my name is Marissa Fraser and I’m a senior at Riverview Highschool and a Stars to Starfish intern. I was born and raised in Sarasota and am very lucky to have grown up by the best beach in the country. I joined stars to starfish because of my love of marine science and the ocean, I also feel very passionate about helping to save the oceans. I joined marine club last year and I am now co-historian this year which is such an amazing opportunity. My favorite thing to do is going to the beach with my friends especially to watch sunset. My favorite memory with marine life was during covid I was snorkeling in a coral reef in Key West and saw a massive hammer head shark that was just feet away. When I learned about the aqua dome in my freshman year I thought it was so cool and when I found out there was a way to work in it and help take care of it I knew I wanted to be a part of it, so that’s when I decided to switch to IBCP instead of IBDP so I knew id be able to be a Stars to Starfish intern.
Danek Garcia
Hi, my name is Danek Garcia. I am a senior at Riverview Highschool. I grew up in Georgia but spent time in Florida all throughout my childhood, sparking my interest in marine life. In my free time I like to hang out with friends, go to the beach, and sail. I took Marine Science last year and that really confirmed my love of the subject. I’m really excited to be a part of Stars to Starfish this year and see where we take the program!
Juliana Giol
My name is Juliana Giol and I am a Senior at Riverview High School. I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Sarasota when I was 12. I grew up in my beautiful island surrounded by its beautiful beaches and the ocean became my second home. I did many activities as a kid such as ballet, horseback riding, girl scouts, and chorus. I joined the Stars to Starfish Internship Program because I wanted to further explore my interest and love for marine life ever since I took that Marine Biology class freshman year. I know this program will be loads of fun, I will be surrounded by people with my common interest, and I will help others learn and hopefully spark their interest in Marine Biology.
Aiden Hackney
Hi my name is Aiden Hackney and I’m thrilled to be a part of Stars to Starfish! I am a senior at Riverview High School. I grew up in Chicago and visited Sarasota often sparking my interest in marine life and the oceans. I have always had a fascination for learning about marine life and being apart of the program allows me to get hands on experience. I enjoy hanging out with my friends and going to the beach. After high school I plan on going into cyber security. I’m extremely excited for this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.
Lucas Torres
Hi! My name is Lucas A. Torres. I was born in Venezuela and raised in Colombia until I was 13. I Joined the Star to Starfish program because I love marine life and want to do anything that’s in my hands to preserve it. I was raised in a cattle town where the ocean was nowhere near, so the first time I went to the ocean was in 2016 when I went to San Andres, there the water is so clear that it doesn’t even look real, you can see so many different fish and other marine creatures that are truly fascinating. My aspiration for the future is that we as a community understand why respecting and preserving every aspect of the ocean is important, and that way we can all contribute to create a more healthy and ecologic environment.
Lily Koehl
Hi I’m Lily Koehl and I’m a senior at Riverview High School. I joined the Stars to Starfish Internship because of my love for Marine Biology and the ocean. I grew up here in Sarasota and have always been intrigued by marine wild life. I love to spend days on the boat tubing, fishing and hanging out with friends. I also love running and I have been part of the Riverview Track and Field team since sophomore year. This year I look forward to learning more about the local marine organisms and teaching young kids more about the ocean.
Michelle McLeod
My name is Michelle McLeod. I am 17 years old and a senior at Riverview Highschool. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, going to the beach and dancing! I am very excited to be a part of the Stars to Starfish internship program this year! I love marine life and am excited to become more knowledgeable about our sea friends!
Dabian Reitz
Hello, my name is Dabian Reitz. I am a Senior at Riverview Highschool and am 17 years old. For fun I enjoy going to the beach, going on the boat, and being with my friends. I have always had a passion for working with animals, especially Marine Life so as soon as I heard about the Stars to Starfish program, I knew it was for me. I am excited to learn new things about Marine and Sea life as I have a lot to learn, and it is one of my favorite subjects. Another part of this program I am excited about is the many trips to the aqua dome, my favorite thing in the aqua dome is the shark tank as those are my favorite animals. Another fact about me is I am on the Varsity Boys Weightlifting team and am one of the top lifters in the state.
Serena Schroll
Hello! My name is Serena Schroll. I am a senior here at Riverview High School. I was born in Illinois and lived there until I was 14. Growing up there with no ocean or sea life I didn’t realize how fascinating it is! So, once I moved to Florida in 2019, I started my freshman year at Riverview. I first took Biology but once sophomore year hit, I found the great opportunity to take Marine Biology! I was unsure at the time what I wanted to do for a career but once I took both Honors Marine and IB Marine I found out I would love to start a career in Marine Biology. Stars to Starfish is a great opportunity to get a inside look of what it could be like as a Marine Biologist. I took the opportunity immediately. Another thing I love is being around the ocean and working with sea life, as I find it fascinating!
Kallisti Stearns
I spent most of my childhood living on the ocean, right next to the Gulf of Mexico. I would go boating almost every weekend, my family and I went scalloping, fishing, and I loved to swim. The ocean has always been like my second home. The reason I have joined the RHS Marine Science program is because of my deep caring for sea creatures, I want to work to protect them. I wish to go into Architecture as a career and change the industry to become more environmentally friendly.
Zach Thompson
Hi! My name is Zach and I’m in my senior year at Riverview. I was born in Massachusetts, and my family moved to Sarasota when I was four. I love playing music and collecting retro video games. I work mostly with our bamboo cat sharks, and in the future I plan to study marine biology with a possible specialization in cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, etc.).
Carolina Valdivia
My name is Carolina Valdivia, I’m 17 years old. I love working with kids and helping out in any way that I can. I consider myself a very happy person who can for the most part find the joy in the little things. I am very excited to be able to work with kids and show them all of the cool animals!
Ray Williams
Hi! My name is Ray Williams. I am currently a senior at Riverview High School. I grew up in Sarasota, always in the water, and it sparked my interest in marine life. I spend most of my time still on the water; boating, fishing, or diving. In college I want to hopefully pursue a career in marine sciences or ocean engineering. My favorite animal in the aqua dome is the snook they are fun to feed! I am very excited to be a part of the Stars to Starfish internship and contribute to the betterment of the program!
Reid Yingling
My name is Reid James Yingling and I am a senior at Riverview Highschool. I’ve lived my whole life in the Sarasota area. I like to read, hike, whittle and to work on my aquariums. I am obsessed with every single facet of biology, especially ecology, taxonomy and ichthyology. I have volunteered at Mote Marine Lab in the JET program, in Sarasota Bay Watch and am the President of Marine Club. I am participating in the internship because it gives me access to more knowledge about marine biology that I will use to fuel my endless passion for biology. My favorite activity is to clean the tanks because it is a nice break from the stress of IB, sort of like a Zen Garden but scraping off algae.
Ram Nation Aquascience 