Maria Serra Pereda’s summer internship: digging for turtle eggs on the beach

In May 2025, Maria Serra Pereda arrived in Juno Beach, Florida to begin her summer internship. She had no idea what to expect. By the end of her first week, she was waking up before dawn to dig in the sand for turtle eggs. And she loved it.

Two months earlier, Serra Pereda attended an informational session by Gallaudet’s Office for Career Success (OCS). Employer Relations Coordinator Anjali Desai-Margolin was looking for the perfect fit for an opportunity at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC). She asked what Serra Pereda was doing for the summer.

Serra Pereda was interested in the opportunity, but wasn’t sure how she could make it work as an international student. Desai-Margolin helped her apply and arranged for a stipend from OCS. Soon after, Serra Pereda headed to Florida.

Life at LMC

Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a “nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation, education, and conservation facility”. It promotes the conservation of ocean ecosystems, with a special focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles.

The waters around Juno Beach are home to three kinds of sea turtles: loggerheads, green turtles, and leatherbacks. Every 2-5 years, mature female turtles return to Juno Beach to lay around 100 eggs in nests deep in the sand. The babies that hatch make their way out of their nests and into the ocean.

Sea turtles can live upwards of 80-100 years, but the survival of young turtles is more perilous than ever because of dangers like fishing nets, climate change, and plastic pollution. According to LMC, “researchers estimate that approximately 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 eggs produce hatchlings that reach adulthood.”

The sea turtles local to Juno Beach are categorized as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Conservation organizations like LMC are vital to the continued survival of the species, who have been roaming our oceans for over 100 million years.

Student interns contribute to research, education, and rehabilitation efforts at LMC. In return, they gain practical skills, professional mentorship, and a deeper understanding of marine conservation, preparing them for future careers in the field.

As a Nesting Field Intern on the Research team, Serra Pereda helped monitor the status of turtle egg nests that had been laid deep in the sand. By collecting data on the success rate of nests, researchers at LMC help to improve the strategies conservationists will use to save more sea turtles in the future.

The Research team at LMC includes Jen Reilly, Research Operations Manager. Reilly is also deaf, and she gave Serra Pereda a mentor who could provide direct communication in American Sign Language (ASL).

“I first met Maria through Anjali Desai-Margolin, who spoke highly of her and recommended her for our Sea Turtle Nesting Field Experience Internship in the Research Department,” Reilly recalls.

“Maria’s assignments included assisting with daily sea turtle nesting surveys, conducting nest checks, and supporting nest excavations. She also took responsibility for daily ATV maintenance, restocking supplies for the morning survey program, and contributing to creating ASL content for the Marketing team.”

“It was good to have a deaf supervisor in Jen,” Serra Pereda says. “It gave me communication access. Jen also taught LMC staff how to work with deaf people before I arrived. Of course, miscommunications can happen with stress and fatigue, but everybody worked together.”

From Spain to sea turtles

Serra Pereda was raised in Madrid, Spain by deaf parents who use Lengua de Signos Española (LSE, also known as Spanish Sign Language) and Spanish. She learned English at school, but didn’t know ASL until arriving at Gallaudet.

Although sign language and deaf culture have been a part of Serra Pereda’s life since birth, Gallaudet is her first time attending a school for the deaf and hard of hearing. Growing up, she survived by sitting in the front of class and trying to follow what the teachers said. It didn’t always work. In high school, the future biology major failed a biology class.

When it was time to graduate, Serra Pereda wanted to find a school outside of her home country. Her mother happened to be friends with the first-ever Gallaudet graduate from Spain, Sergio Vazquez, ’86. Vazquez told Serra Pereda and her family about Gallaudet. Soon after, she applied and headed to Washington, D.C. 

Serra Pereda arrived in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the culture shock of moving from Spain to the U.S., she had to learn ASL while most of her peers and teachers wore masks that obscured their faces. It felt overwhelming, but Serra Pereda thrived with the support of the Gallaudet community.

“Everybody at Gallaudet accepted me and helped me find my way. My roommate—still my best friend today—helped a lot, Serra Pereda says. “My STAMP teachers were super supportive, too.” She continues to receive guidance from Vasquez, along with fellow Spanish peers Cesar Morata, ’89, and Jesus Valdes Garcia.

Majoring in biology was an easy decision. She had always loved animals and life sciences. When the Office of Career Success told her about the internship at LMC, another piece of the puzzle fell into place.

As she got used to her new environment, she realized she had more access than ever before. “I didn’t know how school was supposed to work until I got to Gallaudet,” Serra Pereda says. “I’m a visual learner. Now when I take a biology class, concepts are explained using a visual language in ASL.”

Matching students with internships

Gallaudet’s Office for Career Success partners with a wide variety of companies. Students and alumni can use an online platform to apply for hundreds of different job opportunities and internships.

OCS also hosts workshops on interviewing, networking, resume building, and more. This October, Jen Reilly came to campus to participate in an OCS Job & Internship Fair, reuniting with Serra Pereda.

During Serra Pereda’s internship, OCS was in regular contact with LMC to ensure everything went smoothly. Serra Pereda also sent weekly reports to her internship coordinator, Gaurav Arora, Associate Professor of Biology.

“Maria did very well in her internship,” Arora says. “She was open to new ideas and was able to adapt to the tasks that were given to her. She learned a lot and was happy to work in an environment that gave her an opportunity to deal with different situations. She excelled at it.”

Says Desai-Margolin from OCS, “I felt inspired seeing Maria excited to go to work every day. She was motivated. She had more than just a learning experience. She had fun and got to meet people. It’s nice to see the support she got from everybody at LMC.”

A lasting impact

Serra Pereda’s favorite part of working with LMC was excavating turtle egg nests. Three days after the last hatchling exited a nest and hopped into the ocean, LMC crews would dig up the remnants to record the results. Because the eggs are fragile, they couldn’t use shovels. Serra Pereda and her coworkers dug down into the sand using their hands.

“Every day was something new and different,” Serra Pereda says. “It wasn’t easy. I had to wake up before dawn to go to the beach. During the day, we did a lot of running and digging with the sun beating down. We had to drink lots of water to avoid heat stroke. It was very physical work. I grew a lot and learned a lot.”

When her time at LMC was over, Serra Pereda wasn’t ready to leave. “I really wanted to stay. I fell in love with that job,” she says.

Reilly remembers, “Maria demonstrated exceptional attention to detail, particularly during nest checks. She consistently took initiative and excelled in the field. During the peak of nesting season, she independently conducted nest excavations and inventories with efficiency and accuracy, even under high-pressure conditions.

“She demonstrated the skills, work ethic, and initiative needed for the role, and I sincerely hope she returns to work with us in a future season.”

Serra Pereda plans to return to LMC next summer in a different role. She is considering becoming a veterinarian in the future, and LMC has Rehabilitation and Animal Care teams where she could learn more about the field.

Serra Pereda arrived on the Gallaudet campus as an international student during a global pandemic and managed to thrive. Her time with LMC also challenged her to grow.

“It was my first time living by myself.” Serra Pereda reflects. “I had to learn time management and how to take accountability.”

And just like she had to learn ASL on the fly at Gallaudet, her internship threw her into the deep end. On her first day of work, LMC sent her straight to the beach to learn on the job. Of course, she thrived.

“After this, I feel like I can do anything!” Serra Pereda says. So far, so good.

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Gallaudet offers B.A., B.S., and minor degrees in Biology.

The Gallaudet Office for Career Success offers services for Gallaudet students and alumni.