Every day after school, Anna Gray and Jasmine Cidon walk into room 414, feed the fish in the aquarium, clean their tank, and refresh the water. In their care are two minnows and a frog, which they look after to the best of their abilities. Anna and Jasmine are co-leads of the paludarium tank. We met up as they prepared water for the aquariums, and asked them how they got there.
Lasso: Can you tell me how you got into [working with the aquarium]?
Anna: So initially I spoke with Wendy, who is the President of the Environmental Club, and she told me about her club through cross-country. When I went [to the Environmental Club] for a leadership day when she talked about related leadership positions that were open, I decided that I was interested in [the aquarium], and I invited Jasmine to join me as a co-leader.
Jasmine: We were uncertain about which project to co-lead, so we ended up looking at different ones, and the aquarium seemed most interesting.
Lasso: Was there anything that either of you had done in the past which was similar to this, or leading up to this? Or was this your first foray into anything like the aquarium?
Anna: I believe my first lead into having to handle fish was obviously as a kid, I took care of one or two goldfish, and the longest they would last was a month, or maybe two months if I was lucky [laughs]. So, obviously, when I came into this, I didn’t have a lot of experience, but Grayson and Emily, who both take care of other aquariums, were kind enough to introduce me and Jasmine to how to take care of fish. I remember when I first walked in, Grayson asked me if I had any experience with fish, and my prompt answer was no [laughs].
Jasmine: So, personally, I had been helping out in the Environmental Club since freshman year, and I kind of helped with watering plants, and planting stuff. I never really entered the aquarium. I remember going there once and being interested in the pH tests and thinking they were kind of cool.
Anna: Yeah, I recall that last year, I met [another aquarium volunteer], and she told me about the things she did in [the aquaria] and the work she was doing, and that was what got me interested in the aquarium, because she mentioned that she needed people to fill in for her when she left.
Lasso: What is your favorite thing you’ve done in the aquarium so far?
Anna: I like watching [the fish]; they’re pretty chill. Whenever I see them doing something cute, I just take out my phone and start recording them.
Jasmine: I feel like our aquarium is slightly ill, but looking at the other ones, it’s cool to see – there were these little eggs, like fifty of them, and now they’re fish swimming around, and that was cool to see.
Anna: We have a trout reconstruction tank that Emily and another girl are taking charge of, and what they’re doing is they’re raising trout from eggs, and every day, every week, when we stop by, we can see the trout getting bigger and stronger, and being able to swim.
Lasso: Do you think you’re going to keep on doing this?
Anna: Yes! Probably until we graduate!
Jasmine: Yeah.
Lasso: What are you involved in outside of this [the aquarium]?
Jasmine: Anna’s the leader of Future Doctors of America, and I’m a member. I’m also part of Science Olympiad.
Lasso: What do you want to be after school?
Anna: I want to be a doctor, but I’m also interested in the military, and those two don’t combine that well. Only the top 0.2% get to become nurses, and I’m pretty sure I’m not in that range.
Jasmine: I’m planning to major in biochemistry.
Lasso: Do you think your experience with fish could help you there?
Jasmine: I believe so. I think it’s good real-life experience, and the responsibility and time management are really important. It’s like in-person biology lessons, with pH tests and ammonia tests. I’m probably going to volunteer with the Chesapeake Bay next year, because that water is really dirty.
