Katie Bergin ’23

Why UNE

I chose UNE because of its strong aquaculture major. When I took a tour of the campus, I spoke with who would eventually become my advisor in the aquaculture program and she sold me on the school. Over time, I began to develop strong professional and personal relationships [with my professors]. I wanted to learn from the best, and I was able to do that with my UNE education.

UNE has a very chill community. [The students] are not uptight which allows for a lot of people to feel welcome and vibe with each other.

Experiential Learning

During my last two semesters at UNE, I had an internship [on-campus] where I designed, built, and cared for a saltwater system with seahorses. The [College of Arts and Sciences] Internship Office helped support me during my internship. They helped me set up my learning outcomes and support with time management.

During my internship, I built and plumbed two 50 gallon tanks and cared for the empty tanks before the seahorses arrived. Once they arrived, the seahorses had to be fed twice a day. So for the spring semester, part of my internship was to create and manage a team of students to help care for the seahorses.

My UNE internship eventually led me to present at a national aquaculture convention where I ended up networking with my future employer. I’m very grateful for the whole experience.