Internship Highlight: From New Jersey to Alaska, Dakota Bell Discovers a Future in Kelp Research

by Vicki Heisser  |   

When Dakota Bell first came to Prince William Sound College, she wasn't planning on a career in marine science.
 
Originally from South Jersey, Dakota earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Stockton University in 2022 and spent three summers working as a shorebird and saltmarsh bird technician. While looking for ways to broaden her experience, she came across Prince William Sound College's Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC) in Natural Resources Technician (NRT) program on social media.
 
"It seemed pretty low commitment since it was only a semester long," she said. "I really loved the NRT. I really liked the forestry class that was offered and taught by Katie Bobowski. And I really loved the Prince William Sound College community. I felt like they really took care of their students."
 
Dakota completed the NRT program in fall 2024 before returning home for another seasonal field position. During that time, she realized something was missing.
"All of my studies previously had been mainly terrestrial," she said. "I felt like I wanted to learn more about the marine aspect of it."
 
Growing up on the Jersey Shore, the ocean had always been a big part of her life. She returned to Alaska in January 2026 to complete the Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC) in Marine Natural Resources Technician (MNRT). While at PWSC, she also completed an Associate of Applied Science in Technology, and during the program, an unexpected interest began to take shape.
 
"I actually really became interested in kelp, which was unexpected because I was always more of an animal person."
 
After graduation, Dakota accepted a mariculture internship in Cordova coordinated through the MNRT program. The position is shared between the Native Village of Eyak's Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Prince William Sound Science Center.
She arrived in Cordova the day after graduation and immediately stepped into Alaska's growing kelp industry.
 
Working with the Native Village of Eyak, Dakota has assisted commercial kelp farmers during harvest and processing, collected environmental data and samples at the organization's research kelp farm, and helped harvest kelp for research projects and community distribution.
 
One of her primary responsibilities has been monitoring a community composting project that uses kelp as a major ingredient to improve local soils.
As kelp season slowed, her work expanded to other projects, including spending a week at the Baird Canyon Field Camp on the Copper River. There, she helped operate fish wheels used to tag and release pre-spawn Chinook salmon.
"It was really cool and not something I had ever imagined myself doing," she said. "I really enjoyed it."
 
At the Prince William Sound Science Center, Dakota's work has focused on laboratory research. She has performed fluorometry to estimate phytoplankton abundance through chlorophyll measurements, assisted with nutrient analyses of water samples collected throughout Prince William Sound, and is helping prepare the kelp nursery that will produce seed strings for local farms this fall.
 
She'll also be staying in Cordova through October to continue working with the kelp nursery after her summer internship officially ends.
Dakota says the experience has completely changed the direction of her career.
 
"I never would have considered this kind of work before completing the MNRT," she said. "I never gave much thought to kelp or considered that people were farming it before taking the mariculture course."
 
She has also learned that working in marine science requires flexibility.
 
"I've learned that working in marine science and marine natural resources really tests your adaptability and mental flexibility because everything is so weather and tidal dependent," she said. "As long as you've got good rain gear and you brought snacks, you're set."
 
Looking ahead, Dakota hopes to continue working in kelp farm research or kelp ecology.
 
"I think that this experience has given me a great head start as I start to look for opportunities elsewhere."
 
This internship has given Dakota hands-on experience in both field and laboratory research while introducing her to one of Alaska's emerging industries. It also shows how the MNRT program and the Associate of Applied Science in Technology can open doors to careers students may never have imagined when they first arrived at PWSC.
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