Jessica Burke with Dustin Browning, GRDA at her research poster presentation. Buke won best student biology project this year. GRDA supported Burke’s efforts through its partnership with Rogers State University.
Burke and colleagues wore protective gear to survey bat caves to monitor the endangered bat population in northeast Oklahoma.
Burke in the Ecosystems lab at GRDA.
Burke outside the Ecosystems lab in a GRDA boat on Grand Lake in Langley.
Rogers State University prepares students for future success in the workforce through specialized degree programs in their respective fields and practical experience through internships, partnerships and co-op programs.
A recent beneficiary of one of RSU’s partnerships is Bartlesville native Jessica Burke.
Burke, who graduated last spring from RSU with a bachelor’s degree in general biology, spent the summer interning at the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) in its Ecosystems and Watershed Management Department.
“As an intern at GRDA, I was involved in the collection and analysis of water samples, the operation of watercraft and other motor vehicles, scientific data collection and entry, performed common field sampling techniques such as water quality collection, environmental DNA collection and macroinvertebrate collection,” Burke said. “I also monitored for algal and bacterial blooms, as well as for threatened and endangered species, such as bats, mussels and fish.”
The Grand River Dam Authority is an agency of the state of Oklahoma created to control, develop and maintain the Grand River waterway. It was created in 1935 by the Oklahoma state legislature and was designed to be self-funding from the sales of electricity and water.
Burke said RSU’s biology department helped prepare her for her internship with GRDA in a variety of ways.
“The university and my instructors really helped me learn about water quality and helped me decide to pursue a career in this field,” she said. “Field trips with my professors introduced me to the wide variety of careers available to biologists. If it wasn’t for (RSU Assistant Professor) Dr. Cheyanne Olson getting in touch with GRDA for help on my research project, I wouldn’t have learned as much about this field as I did. All the skills I learned in the classroom, I applied every day during my internship.”
Burke said she’s thankful for the education and training she received at RSU and GRDA, both of whom encouraged her to “explore her interests” and made possible her academic pursuits. Her internship with GRDA ends in September, after which, she plans to pursue a career in water quality as well as continuing her education and working towards her master’s degree.
While Burke has already graduated and is doing the internship without earning credits, RSU also offers credits for student internships that are structured and supervised work experiences in the areas related to a student’s major. At RSU, internships are three credit hour, senior-level classes.