Lillian Raley

Capstone B6
Mrs. April Moon
1/13/2015
Project Proposal Final Draft
My capstone project focuses on preparing me to work as a marine biologist. To
do this, I will be doing a 12-week internship with the Fort Worth Zoo and receiving my
Open Water Scuba certification. At the zoo, I will be creating one or more educational
posters about environmental science.
I chose to do this for my project because I wanted to prepare for my future career
path. As a marine biologist, Ill likely be working in the ocean, so getting scuba certified
would put me ahead of the curve. If I can become certified before I attend my college of
choice, Texas A&M University at Galveston, I will be able to take more complex scuba
courses taught by the school. I also wanted to do volunteer work at a zoo, because of
its relevance to my career field. This internship will allow me to gain vital work
experience.

Benefits
Of the benefits I can expect to gain, work experience is the most obvious. From
the internship, I will learn about teaching and environmental science from my lessons.
The scuba certification will hopefully prepare me for my higher level marine biology
classes.
10 Milestones
10/14/2014 - Started conversations with NET program
10/16/2014 - Started looking into scuba certification costs
10/17/2014 - Received and turned in NET application
Set interview time with Holly Owen

10/18/2014 - Attended interview and got the internship

11/01/2014 - First day of internship
11/22/2014 - 3 weeks of internship
12/13/2014 - 6 weeks of internship
01/10/2014 - 9 weeks of internship, write 9-week reflection
01/31/2014 - 12 weeks of internship, write final reflection
Continue visiting and working at TNT, assisting and working on

poster
02/28/2014 - Start scuba lessons

*Dates Subject to Change.

Final Product
My final product will be in the form of an educational poster, which I will create
using what I am taught by my mentors. I will periodically send them my work and they
will give me advice on how to improve it. I may create more than one poster depending
on the time. I will also receive a certificate upon completion of the NET program.
Professional Mentors
My professional mentor is the program coordinator for the NET program,
Jonathan Connor. Holly Owen, the woman who conducted my interview also acts as a
mentor, as I often sit in on her Nature Club classes.
Schedule
My weekly schedule includes receiving a lesson to learn in order to teach the
children on Saturday at 1. Depending on the lesson for the week, I may or may not
receive anything.
Audience
I havent identified an audience yet, because of how my project is centered
around preparing me for my future career. If I have to have interviews with any of the
colleges I apply to, I could take my portfolio and talk about the project to them. I also
thought about showing my progress at the NET program, maybe to Holly or to
Jonathan. It was also suggested to me to give a presentation to elementary students. I

have been considering asking if I could teach one of the days at Nature Club and give
a presentation to the kids there.

How Success Will Be Measured

My success will be measured by the successful completion of the internship
program and my Open Water scuba certification.
3 Ideas for the Technical Paper:
Scuba technique and equipment
Zoo conservation programs
Future of ocean conservation programs