Meet Marissa Sandoval, Deep Look Intern (Patreon)

It would be a lot more challenging to produce Deep Look without our interns. (Our lead producer and cinematographer, Josh Cassidy, actually began his career at KQED as an intern with the science unit!)

We’ve been fortunate to work with many talented individuals over the years who have helped research and develop story ideas, assist on shoots, and occasionally write articles that accompany our episodes for our producers. Our interns have come from various backgrounds with a wide range of experience and skills in science and journalism, but we do hope that they leave us with more knowledge of what it takes to be a media producer.

Tomorrow is the last day for our most recent intern, Marissa Sandoval. We’re sad to see her go, as she’s done so much for us during her time with Deep Look. (You can read the article she wrote about leaf miners here.) She obtained her bachelor of science degree from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in entomology; it was Kip Will’s natural history of insects course (who is a longtime Deep Look collaborator) that deeply sparked her enthusiasm for these tiny creatures.

“I've always been interested in the natural world. My mom always tells me the stories of how when I was young, I'd chase scorpions when visiting family in Mexico. In our home in the Sacramento Valley, I always collected the oak galls (which I called "jumping beans") only to find out years later that there were wasp pupae in them. Now, I'm fascinated by the incredible amount of diversity we see among insects, and I'm especially interested in plant-insect interactions.”

Having worked closely with our team behind the scenes, Sandoval has “a much deeper appreciation for how the Deep Look team has produced wonderful content throughout the pandemic. Finding organisms that can be filmed outside and in a safe manner has been a challenge that they’ve coped with incredibly well. Timing and feasibility can make or break a story!”

This coming fall, Sandoval will begin her Ph.D. program in population biology at UC Davis. “I will start researching orchid bees, which are major pollinators throughout the neotropics ... I hope to take what I learned from Deep Look into the natural history and science communication that I do in the future.”

Photo courtesy of Marissa Sandoval