Pigeon Key’s education season officially begins in a few weeks, and we’re excited to welcome our newest interns — Justin, Jenny, Kira, McKinley, and Rebecca. Keep reading to meet the team and learn more about their interest in marine science!
Justin was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from Concordia University Nebraska in 2025 where he majored in Wildlife and Conservation Biology. He grew up spending time in the Rocky Mountains where his appreciation for nature grew exponentially. Through family vacations to coastal regions, and undergraduate study tours to Central America, he found a passion and interest in Marine Science. Various seasonal work positions in both Yosemite NP and Glacier NP exposed him to the field of outdoor education. If he’s by the mountains, you can find Justin hiking, backpacking, or cooling off in an alpine stream. If he’s by the ocean, you can find him snorkeling or relaxing on the beach. If he’s by neither, you’ll find him lifting weights, or playing basketball. He is excited to share his passion and experiences in Marine Science this upcoming education season.
Jenny was born and raised in Upstate New York. She grew up with a love of the outdoors, often hiking, camping, and fishing around New York State. She attended the University at Buffalo where she majored in Biological Sciences. While there, she also conducted undergraduate research on the acoustic niches of Wood Warblers. Jenny plans to attend graduate school, but in the meantime she is traveling the country completing internships to learn more about nonprofit research and education. She is very excited for the season and to explore all the Keys have to offer!
Kira was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, where the ocean was her nextdoor neighbor. She grew up with a great appreciation and respect for the marine environment and a passion to protect it. This followed her to Smith College where she graduated with a bachelors degree in Computer Science and Biology. She has completed a number of different research projects centering around the intersection of computational and marine sciences, specifically in the utilization of machine learning methods for underwater image processing. She also spent three months in South Caicos studying marine resource management and conducting fieldwork on seagrass erosion edges. She is very excited to be back in an island setting and eager to share her knowledge and passion with others to help them connect with and learn from the ocean.
McKinley recently lived on the West coast so moving to Florida, especially the keys, was an amazing opportunity. She was born in the Midwest and has lived in multiple states, Oregon being the latest. She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder where she studied Evolutionary and Ecology Biology as well Environmental studies. As a young child in Charleston S.C. she had great experiences with the ocean and enjoyed the extensive diversity of wildlife. Ever since seeing the birth of sea turtles first hand this has defined her life goal of studying and preserving marine wildlife. She has had hands on work at a museum being an environmental educator and spent time volunteering with the Sea Turtle patrol which also made a huge impression. She has had lots of experience on research projects and teaching others about marine ecosystems. One day McKinley would like to attend graduate school (with Australia being a dream location). She is extremely excited to be here at Pigeon Key and share her experience and knowledge.
Rebecca was born in Palm Springs, California but has lived in 5 different states across the US, from Key Largo, FL to Artesia, NM. After attending high school in Warsaw, Poland, she moved to Orlando, FL where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Central Florida. Growing up, Rebecca always had a love for animals which, during her studies, grew into a passion for environmental conservation. Following graduation, she spent some time working as a substitute teacher and developed an interest in educating and inspiring kids. She believes environmental conservation starts with education and is excited to be back in the Florida Keys to share her love of its unique marine ecosystem with others.
We all can’t wait for the 2026 education season to start soon, and we know it will be another year of fun in the sun!
(Photo from left to right- Rebecca, Kira, Justin, McKinley, Jenny)
