Meet the Interns 2023-24

Sydney Fieber

Hey! My name is Sydney Fieber. I am a senior at Riverview High school. Being that I have lived in Sarasota my whole life, the ocean is like a second home to me. Growing up I have always wanted to know more about the ocean. I love learning about marine life and how everything is connected. When I was in elementary school I remember my first field trip to the aqua dome, I remember thinking that it was the coolest thing ever. Since that day I have been determined to participate in that aspect of Riverview High school. As soon as I could I enrolled in marine bio my freshman year. Now as a senior Stars to Starfish just seemed like common sense to me because I knew I would love it. I enjoy going to the beach to watch the sunset and swim in the water. I also enjoy going to the gym and traveling when I can.  

Kennedy Flatch

Hello! My name is Kennedy Flatch and I am a senior here at Riverview High School. I was born and raised in Sarasota, so boating, fishing, and going to the beach has been a part of my everyday life! Since I was little, I’ve always had a love for animals, especially our sea animals! Outside of school, I enjoy going to the beach and boating with my friends. Don’t ask me how many sunset photos are on my phone… I was a surf/paddle board camp counselor for 3 years, which made me fall in love with the ocean even more. I’ve been interested in Stars to Starfish since sophomore year and had a great time with the prior interns. I’m so excited to learn more about our marine life and be a part of this amazing program! 

Amaris Gonzalez

Howdy! My name is Amaris Gonzalez. I’m a senior at Riverview High School (Class of ‘24!), and I am a Floridian born and raised. I absolutely love animals and I joined the Stars to Starfish program to learn more about marine animals, as well as educate younger generations on the wonders of the ocean. In my free time I enjoy reading and writing, as well as playing video games. I am also the Riverview JROTC Battalion Command Sergeant Major, so I spend a lot of my time helping out and teaching others. 

Weston Gruttadauria

Hello everyone!!! My name is Weston Gruttadauria (Groot-ta-door-ia). I am a senior at Riverview High School. I love to lift weights, heavy weights 😊, going to the beach, and playing football. I also like to listen to music such as classical and reggae. My favorite music artists are Bob Marley and Antonio Vivaldi.  

Jaymie Hager

Hi! My name is Jaymie Hager, and I am a senior at Riverview High school. Since I grew up in Sarasota I have always been near the water, at the beach, collecting seashells, fishing, or on the boat. This made my love for the ocean and everything living below the surface grow even more. Since starting high school here at Riverview, I have taken marine science classes to learn more about the marine life that I am surrounded by. In the future, I want to incorporate marine life into my career. I am so grateful to be a part of a program that shares the passion that I have for the ocean!  

Aiden Kelly

Hello! My name is Aidan, and I am a senior here at Riverview High School. I am a member of the marine club and an intern in the Stars to Starfish program. I have spent my whole life here in Sarasota and have spent most of it on the water. I am a sailor with the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and love being on the boat. I love being able to help keep our local marine ecosystems healthy and inspire future generations to care about the environment around them. 

Brooke Kregenow

Hey! My name is Brooke Kregenow and I am a senior here at Riverview. I grew up in Ohio and later moved to the middle of Oregon. So, when I moved to Sarasota, the ocean was pretty new to me. However, I have always loved animals and nature. I have been passionate about marine life as long as I can remember. Drawings of sharks and whales were plastered everywhere when I was younger. I hope to work with kids after college and my dream would be to work at a zoo or aquarium in the education department. I have my sights set on FGCU for college. I look forward to working in the Stars to Starfish program and can’t wait to learn and grow! 

Sofia Leimig Gonzalez

Hi! My name is Sofia Leimig Gonzalez, and I am a senior at RHS. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to Homosassa, Florida when I was 9 years old, then moved from there to Sarasota when I was 10 years old. Moving to Florida influenced my love for marine life as well as the biology aspect of it. It taught me to love the beach and the beautiful aspects of it! I plan on studying marine biology in college and furthering my career.  

Kristofer Leise

Hey, my name is Kris Leise, and I am a Senior at Riverview Highs school. I am a part of the Marine Biology group Stars to Starfish. I joined this program because I love the Earth’s oceans and I want to learn more on how to protect and preserve them. Some things that I enjoy doing while spending time in the ocean or beach are snorkeling, scuba diving, set skiing, boating, and spending quality time with my friends and family. Some other things that I enjoy doing in my free time are going to the gym, watching and playing sports, spending time with friends and family, and watching movies. I am truly blessed to be a part of such a wonderful program here at RHS, and I am glad to teach these yougins some valuable information about the ocean and our program. 

Cash Lewis

Hi, I’m Cash Lewis and I’m a senior at Riverview High School in the Stars Starfish internship program. I joined the Stars to Starfish Internship because of my love for Marine Biology and the ocean. I was born and grew up here in Sarasota and have always loved marine wildlife. I love to spend days listening to music, going to the beach and hanging out with friends. I also love playing pickleball and football! This year I look forward to learning more about the local marine organisms and teaching future rams more about the ocean. 

Dylan McDonald

Hello, I’m a student at Riverview High School. I love being in the outdoors, fishing and hunting. I joined the Stars to Star Fish program because I love everything to do with water. I also love playing baseball, which takes up most of my time.  

Mimi Miari

Hiya! My name is Mimi and I’m a Senior this year at Riverview High School. I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and the wonderful creatures which inhabit it. Living in Florida all my life, I fondly remember moments from my childhood at different beaches, going on boat trips, and keeping fish as pets.  Taking Marine Science classes here at Riverview for the Past 2 years has really allowed me to learn so much. I’m incredibly grateful to be in the stars to starfish program and I hope I can inspire the next generation to love the sea as much as I do.  

Anna Ourednik

Hi! My name is Anna Ourednik and I am a senior here at Riverview. Growing up in Sarasota, I have always been a 15-minute drive away from the beach- because of this I grew up swimming at the beach, going fishing, going on boats, anything to be near the water. I remember coming to the Aquadome here at Riverview when I was in elementary school and absolutely falling in love with marine life, and everything having to do with the ocean. I started taking Marine Biology with Mr. Wasserman my sophomore year and his class helped me further my passion and knowledge about marine biology. I loved it so much I decided to join the IB Career program, making my path Marine Science, as well as taking IB marine science my junior year. IB marine science was one of my favorite classes I have ever taken and helped me broaden my comprehension of the ocean and how the ocean works, as well as how the animals within the ocean live in conjunction with one another. I am super excited to be a part of this program and broaden my knowledge on all things marine biology. I am hoping to major in Marine Sciences or Environmental Sciences at the University of South Florida St. Pete or Florida Atlantic University. 

Morgan Sims

Hi there! My name is Morgan, I am 17 years old and a senior here at Riverview. I was born and raised here in Sarasota and my parents grew up here too. Living in Florida for so long has given me so many opportunities to experience marine life firsthand. I wanted to join this amazing program because I remember coming to Riverview when I was little, and I always thought it would be so cool to be like one of the big kids in charge of the fish. Now I get to do exactly that, and I am loving it!  

Lincoln States

Hi there! My name is Lincoln, I am 17 years old and a senior here at Riverview. I was born and raised here in Sarasota and my parents grew up here too. Living in Florida for so long has given me so many opportunities to experience marine life firsthand. I wanted to join this amazing program because I remember coming to Riverview when I was little, and I always thought it would be so cool to be like one of the big kids in charge of the fish. Now I get to do exactly that, and I am loving it!  

Taylor Svoboda

Hi! My name is Taylor Svoboda, and I am a senior here at Riverview. I am part of the marine biology IBCP pathway and Stars to Starfish program. I have joined both these programs because ever since I was little, I have always been fascinated with animals of all kinds! Once I moved to Sarasota, I fell in love with marine animals and wanted to learn more about their behaviors. In the future, I would love to be able to work with exotic animals or something more based on northern aquatic animals. I know that this program will be so much fun and open my horizons to different opportunities to learn more about animals! 

Sal Tarantino

Hello, my name is Sal Tarantino, and I am a senior at Riverview Highschool. I was born in Montana, but I have lived almost all of my life in Florida. I love being outside whether it is fishing, surfing, skimboarding, or just spending time on the water. I spend a lot of time working on boats, so a lot of my free days are spent on the water. I enjoy combining my passions for engineering with marine science, and hopefully I can combine the passions for a career in the future. 

Isabella Thompson

Hi! My name is Isabella Thompson, and I am a senior here at Riverview High School. I have lived in Sarasota all my life and have always had a passion for the beautiful ecosystems under the sea. I am most fascinated by coral and the animals that thrive in that particular environment. I enjoy reading and watching movies with my friends when I’m not on the softball field. I joined Stars to Starfish because I love coral and want to share my love of coral with younger kids. My plan for the future is to study psychology and minor in criminology so that I can form an understanding of why people do bad things. I am super pumped for this year and can’t wait to explore new interests. Go team! 

Christine Traynor

Hey! My name is Christine Traynor. I am a senior here at Riverview Highschool. I am born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. I wanted to become a member of the Stars to Starfish program because I now get to start filling in the gaps of my underlying questions for the ocean and marine life in general. I am currently unsure of which college I would like to attend; however, I want to stay in Florida-preferably the east coast. I swam competitively for 12 years of my life but ended that career junior year to start making my own money with a job.

Anna Ullery

Hello, my name is Anna Ullery and I’m a senior here at Riverview High School!! I’ve lived in Sarasota my whole life and I’ve always had a love for the ocean. My family and I go scuba diving, snorkeling, lobstering and boating as often as we can. After touring here in elementary school, I decided to take Marine freshman year and fell so in love with it I continued down that path and took all the offered marine classes here. I’m so excited to learn all about our marine life and teach it to the next generation.

Ashely Yingling

Hey! I’m Ashley! I am a senior at Riverview High School. I love meeting new people and making new friends. My hobbies include longboarding, going to the beach, watching the sunset, and hanging out with friends. I have always grown up near the water and have grown such a love for the ocean and all the cool things about it 😊 That has pushed me to try for Stars to Starfish. In the future, I want to major in biology and follow the pre-dental track.  

Caroline Zorychta

Hey! My name is Caroline Zorychta. I am a senior at Riverview High School. I moved here from Chicago around 2 years ago and it was the best decision. I love spending my time at the beach, watching sunsets and boating with my friends. I joined Stars to Starfish because I love learning about the ocean and all the animals! I am very excited for this year and all the cool things I will get to experience!