Jaime Thom and Linda Lentz

00:02 This is Jaime Thom. I'm 40 years old. Today is November 15th, and we are in Charleston, South Carolina. I am going to be speaking with Linda Lentz who is one of the volunteers and a good friend of mine here at the aquarium.

00:19 And this is Linda Lentz I'm age 72 and today's date is 11 1519. And the location is Charleston, South Carolina. I am speaking with Jaime Thom today and she is my supervisor manager and my volunteer program here at the aquarium.

00:44 Well, Linda, we've known each other long time. We figured it out then 13 years. We've known each other but I feel like we're always busy busy busy when we're here at the aquarium. And I don't really know if I know your whole story from what made you want to become an educator and what brought you to us cuz we're so lucky. Thank you. Jenny me, you know when I think about it, I have to go all the way back to Childhood and I was always caring for others and if someone got hurt on the playground, I was the one that was right. They're always trying to help and so science was my goal as I was growing up and I did major in science in college and taught for many years in the public school and

01:44 Wanting to be an educator was to be a lifelong learner and share with my students what I had learned and science was so exciting to me. It is still is exciting to me and especially the life sciences and the chemistry's and the physics how things work.

02:08 That basically growing up in South Carolina Elmo small farm out in North Charleston at that time my dad and mom were.

02:22 Laborers on the farm and as well as having their own occupations as well. My dad worked at the shipyard and my mom was a mail carrier and so they told us so much about being good stewards of the land and we had some livestock and chickens and dogs all those things that you have on the farm but never a pig and I that has just stayed with me all my life, but respect for our land for our water for life on this planet.

03:07 That's good. I think my started young too. But when you went into science, did you always know Science Education or with the science first? And then the education part came later. How did that education Park get into it? Cuz you could have been doing researcher.

03:25 Getting a lab, but that's not you. I mean, you're such a people person will.

03:31 Actually, I had plans of going to medical school and at that time females just were not allowed into Medical School allow and maybe one day a year at the Medical University and they had a program that was government-sponsored once after a

03:58 Couple years of trying to get in and not being able to make it there was a program in psychology the study of cells that the government was sponsoring because they had the need for it and cytology. It was the diagnosis of cancer. And so I went through that school and it was some paid for by scholarships that the Medical University provided for Sol and

04:37 I was asked to stay on and so I became part of the School of Technology cytology and state their and so I was there for about 2 years and then my husband came along and that's goals of medical school and he was in the Navy and so we traveled for about six years. We lived in Japan for four of those years and so education.

05:17 Having had that experience in the Medical University and then when I got into Japan a missionary asked me that was on base to have a conversational English class. I say at the YWCA in Japan and Tokyo with business men's wives cuz they wanted to learn English so they could accompany, you know, their husbands to the United States. And so I knew no Japanese, but that was good because it helped them to learn and it taught me a little bit too. So that was quite an experience coming back. Then I went back to the Medical University and then as my children started coming out of cited that that I needed more.

06:17 I'm with my children. And so I went to the College of Charleston and I got my Master's in Education Act and then started teaching High School science 38 years. Is that 38?

06:37 2012 7 years, but then we got a long-term subbing in between that right after I retired. That's right. So that accounts for about three of those years the long-term subbing and then we can go after that. We've had you for a long time. So we met 13 years ago and you were education leadership partner with the aquarium already cuz you came in and 99 mm. That's a whole year. That's right. And so I took the position in education and became your supervisor after you've already been here for a while. So whenever you became an ELP you had to apply for that back in 99. What what how did you find out about it and then make you want to apply for the position?

07:33 What was so exciting when we learned that we were going to have an aquarium in Charleston and I do think Nia Riley for that that was one of his particular goals for our city and the fact that it was the goal of the aquarium is education and conservation and sustainability, you know, and that all goes hand-in-hand. So being a part of the aquarium. I saw it as a way for my students to learn as well and

08:22 We enjoy aquatic so much in Charleston. I have Surfers in my family and said the beach has always been such a great experience for us and so much fun all year round in Charleston. And so having a plaid I was picked up at 2 to actually become an ELP in education leadership partner and the training of that was so exciting and we started from the mountains to the Sea and Tweety.

09:04 We're able to actually understand the mission of the aquarium at its fullest because we were able to see the plants the animals enjoy the temperature changes from the mountains down to the ocean and the Sea Coast and

09:29 The most fun I had on that trip, which was one week was when we came back to the aquarium and we spent the night at the aquarium at the foot of the ocean tank. And that was so much fun and and just laying there and looking out that was like being on the bottom of the ocean and like you were scuba diving and you were just at the bottom and looking up and seeing all the diversity in that tank that the next morning when I woke up when I kind of Pete. I'm just kind of keep my eyes open. There was Coretta Coretta here staring at me and her big brown eyes. She was so funny and I started laughing and everybody else surrounding they said what what are you laughing at? And I said look and they looked and Lisa. Everybody was just laughing at

10:29 How to figure out this was something she had never seen before, you know, what a sleeping down there at the bottom of the tank and alerting and so education being a education leadership partner has

10:49 Then good for my students being able to bring them to the aquarium to experience some of the same things that I experience and being able to share that with him and then sharing it with their families has been so educational and it gives such great respect for our sea life are plants.

11:18 Are lands just helping them understand? What stewardship means?

11:28 His son was one of the reasons that I wanted to become an DLP and it's sure panned out with such a good group of people. We have a lot of fun when we get together. We have 19 of us right now 19 education leadership Partners all over South Carolina. So we've moved aquarium has certainly been in benefited from having that group of teachers because you guys know what it's like to be in the classroom, you know, you know how it how the classroom teaching works and so you can bring that knowledge to us when we're creating workshops and when we're creating curriculum and make sure it's real life and feasible for teachers to do in the classroom. It's been such a neat program for the aquarium to have adopted way back before the aquarium even opened it started in 97 and then still going in a little bit different form now, but

12:25 The whip 19 of you and several of you started over 20 years ago a real close to 20 years ago. So it's been it's been a really neat program that a lot of people don't really know exists in our aquarium because you guys are a powerful group of people but you work behind the scenes that's so true and then meet the teachers that actually bring their students have gone through training on a Saturday and it being able to help train those teachers and share with them so that they'll be prepared when they come right has been very exciting for me and this past year. I started volunteering with the school structured program and being able to actually instruct does middle school kids and my case has been so exciting to see the fruits of training those teachers right to see that Saturday.

13:25 Science of it in the teachers on Saturday and then you get to see their students when they come on on Tuesday. So you got to come to get to see both sides of it. Now that we have you as a volunteer and an ELP. So we're lucky we have you in in two capacities you you make my life a lot easier having that expertise. Yes. It's been fun getting to know the whole crew. But I feel like I get to know each of you, but I only get to know each of you at a certain level since we're always working. So this is fun to to be able to see what made you get into the field of science and education and then found the aquarium and now 20 years later. We still have you working in two different capacities for us. So that's that's neat. It's fun being your supervisor. You're an easy person to supervise all the LPS are though. These guys are a fun group of people.

14:16 Well, I hope that this 20th anniversary of the South Carolina Aquarium is going to be a legacy for many many people when I think about.

14:32 Being a native of South Carolina all the diversity that we have in South Carolina. I mean, we have Native Americans that I've been here for Generations in our we have the African-American for generations and we have Spanish now that have been here for generations. And now that we have a Carnival Cruise Line down the street that is bringing people from all over the world. It's true into the aquarium. The aquarium to me is a place that I hope my grandchildren will be able to enjoy 20 years later than this year. I hope that it will see 50 years at least.

15:32 And more than that like that, I agree.

15:37 Fun place to be

15:44 Oh sure. Yeah, absolutely. I grew up similar to you and taking care of other people but mostly animals I just always loved animals in my head dogs and cats growing up but I would always try and at train the like I wouldn't I remember as a child trying to train a tick to stay off of my dogs. That was always an animal animal lover and then my mom is a lover of the ocean and so we would go to the ocean I grew up in Indiana. No ocean anywhere we grew up going once a year to the beach and it was my favorite time of the year and I could sit in the sand and just look for tiny little shells and wandering the waves for hours. So I knew I always loved loved the beach. So I too went to school thinking maybe at veterinary medicine to Purdue University for two years and as much as I love that I needed the ocean.

16:44 So I transferred to the College of Charleston and change my major from biology to marine biology at that point not knowing what I was going to do, but luckily the aquarium opened my senior year in college and I had an internship here and education department teaching structured school programs, which is now the program I manage and bucket. I loved the kids. I loved the aquarium in our mission and just fell in love with talking to other people about all the wonderful things that the world has. So I think at that point I didn't know for sure education, but I loved my internship and I went to grad school at the University of Louisville after I finish my Marine Biology degree at the College of Charleston, and I had a teaching assistantship there. So is teaching biology lab to biology majors

17:44 And I was also doing research on the Ohio River. So I switch from saltwater to freshwater again trying to get close to my closer to my family quickly quickly discovered that I loved the teaching assistantship much better than the research and the lab work. And so I knew I needed to get back into education. So I switched from ecology to masters of arts in teaching and back here in at the Citadel so I actually got back to Charleston in 2003.

18:17 And had a paid internship with the aquarium through the environmental careers organization out of Atlanta. So they paid for my internship here at the aquarium in school programs teaching and then I started getting my Master's in education at the Citadel. And so I thought well, I'd love to be at the aquarium full-time. But if that doesn't happen, I'll teach science and the high school, right? So that was my backup plan and then less than six months later. They hired me here at the aquarium. So I was hired in 2004 at part-time and then your your later. I was hired full-time and then the year later, so I was coordinator and now years later I'm the manager of school programs. So I've been with this program since 2001 almost the whole time and and that's kind of my trajectory trying to figure out what

19:15 What I wanted to do from Science Education and just loving people and loving talking to people about the Earth the aquarium because of your knowledge and personality and just your general comforting a spirit that you are 10 teachers and students. So I don't never seen you get upset. Why do I do have a pretty wonderful job even with frustration sit still fantastic place to work in so many great people that we work with here. I mean all the people in school programs all the people in education department all the people in the hole aquarium. It's a great place to to work. I come to work happy to be here and I think that's what's most important.

20:13 Maybe you could tell me a little bit more about like I don't see your day today work. I just see you on occasion. I come in for volunteer. What type of things do you do during the week and your SSP program and your ELP get it recruiting teachers and calm. Yeah, I'd say a huge part of my work day is communicating with teachers just making sure that they are comfortable with the information. They need to bring to the aquarium. I also spend a portion of my time managing staff that work with the school side of things in the education department. So that's another addict piece of of what I do. So communicating with teachers and and trying to be a good manager and to my fellow co-workers and then curriculum development.

21:13 To make sure that what were putting out there for teachers to use is a great resource for them to use one that they can get to easily on our website and also use easily in the classroom and making sure that everything that we do is a good product for the teachers and then I have course help the rest of the department whenever things are needed anywhere but a lot of my job right now is communicating with teachers and making sure everything runs properly with school programs and Outreach programs and

21:47 And he not to sleep over so you can come and sleep again Monday. You can help us. Maybe I can bring my granddaughter. We're going to have a sleepover this coming year. So you'll definitely have to bring up that we have one tomorrow with Girl Scouts. If you want to help with that one phone 200 200 200. It's a lot of overseeing making sure all the programs are going well and that we provide a good product for teachers to use in the classroom. And for when they come here making sure our classroom programs that we provide for the groups are quality programs that are going to

22:28 I guess I want we want those kids to come here and learn something that they're going to leave here and remember and make them a better Stewart at the Earth. So always having those conservation messages and making sure that they really hit home to that age group is important to us from picking up trash to how to fix the watersheds to how to fix sea turtles and making sure that we're providing information to teachers and also to students that they can take with them to make them better better stewards of the Earth. Can you

23:06 Share with Linda

23:08 If you could wave a magic wand.

23:13 And improve any aspect of the education field.

23:22 That's great. That's a great question. Oh, man.

23:29 I think if I could have an influence on

23:33 Any certain thing that could maybe?

23:36 Enhance or make things better.

23:41 I think it would be the conservation peace and trying to

23:45 Provide more and better messages to kids that they can take home with them, you know talking about litter is one thing but what can we really give them what we really create and instill in them that when they leave here they can make a difference. So trying to come up with a way to really hit each grade level cuz it's different but the way that they're thinking at different age levels really making them leave here with that message that they can make a difference.

24:20 That piece of recycling the recycle app that you all are using now in science. Yeah, I've picked up on that and the SSP program that I do talk a little bit about that and has it been successful or students and teachers actually recording I think some are and I think it's growing in our conservation department. They created the citizen science litter-free a digital journal and it's it's growing and around our state. So we talked about it during our programs. But we also talked about it during the teacher workshops and letting them know that what we're doing is they can have a part in that not just with glitter, but with the dolphins in the sea rise map as well. So I think it is growing and I think there are some things that we can.

25:20 Better on that to make it a little bit more teacher-friendly, but one thing I've Loved about that citizen science app is we've created activities to go along with it. So it can regarding teacher can not just download the app, but there's an activity that she can do with her students using the app and I think that's helpful and in our side on the teacher side of things making sure that we have this thing out there that's actually usable in a classroom because it works with families. But how do you make it work in the classroom? So we had those activities to kind of tie those two things that together. So I think I started with the conservation department and luckily we get to be a part of what they do and education department as well.

26:05 How do you say I know we used in our Workshop only in the in the workshop, but I'm thinking about using it in my neighborhood and that's why I was asking a girl and if you had any success with it, not me in particular, but I know the conservation department has used a lot of the data from the app to get the plastic bag bans in different counties that they're working with in South Carolina. So the data specifically from that app is is being used to help backup why we need to stop using the single-use plastic. So it has definitely been successful and now we just want to keep that data coming in and have teachers use at a little bit more and get it get it out to the rest of the state. So I took it out to Spartanburg. We've talked about it last Saturday at Spartanburg and their eyes the teacher's eyes kind of opened is something that they can use in their classroom. So that's always good cuz they're nowhere near the beach.

27:05 But they're closer to the beach than Indiana is so bad. They need to see how they can make the ocean a better place even where they are.

27:13 Yeah, I think probably I'm just more exposure to get is a digital. I agree I think is going to kind of pull people in and that's what I was thinking in my neighborhood. Then when I walk in the mornings, I see a lot of cigarette butts that I'm constantly picking up and I keep thinking these are going down the storm drain, you know right into the ocean. Yep. And you know, that's the great thing about the aquarium. It's an advocate for conservation and it's some an advocate for sustainability and you all have a good catch program to write because some of the things that you loved as a child in the sustainability in the animals on the farm in science and the things that I loved as a child I didn't really learn about about

28:13 Sustainability at that age, but that love of all those things that's brought me to be able to think more about sustainability. And now it was a good catch program. Even you know, making sure you make good seafood choices with the aquarium can be that that place to go to get that information and Powerful. We have a powerful job to be able to be a voice and then and hopefully help people learn about sustainability whether it's good catch or litter or

28:43 Sea level rise. So we have a little we have a fantastic place to do work doing a lot of good things and soon as you walk in the door, you know, it's a Daria education, you know, when you look at the floor and walk on the floor in our with the rivers the very beginning and the watersheds that all the right here into the ocean and the fact that are dolphins actually determine for us there indicators that I how healthy are water and dumb are dolphins are right there right there lessons tomorrow, aren't you eating a dolphin on the rain? So what would you say all the lessons that you've taught in those workshops? Like the dolphin lessons the turtle lessons the Watershed lessons.

29:43 Did you have a favorite of all those ones that you trained teachers on the you know, all of those programs the Earth history Turtles and the dolphins dolphins being very new this year. They're fabulous and it's really just preference of the teacher of the school what the teacher is emphasizing in the classroom. But as far as my favorite would be the dolphin. Is that really the Dolphins? I think it's because of the

30:24 Just the nature of the lesson now Turtles are my favorite. I'll never forget that. I think the turtle program lesson that we teach is very good for emphasizing the necessity that we take care of sea life all sea life because of the food chains and the food right ABS and the same with the dolphins that comes across both of those lessons. So if something happens to the jellyfish, something's going to happen to the loggerhead right there going to be there all these connections that are present, but it was interesting a few weeks back. I taught the dolphin.

31:24 A couple of teachers they were so excited about it. I wanted to come back and experience the a turtle a turtle Legends as well and give up another Saturday and that the dolphin lesson is definitely a lesson that helps you understand the education perspective of why we need to take care of the oceans, you know, we go down to Florida and see, you know, all the dolphin trixin and which are good and fun. However, we come to the aquarium and we learn why we need to take care of our ocean so that these animals can do these tricks that they are unsustainable it but they're going to be here for for a long long time.

32:24 Healthy because of the indicators that they are fascinating to of a help the ocean yet and I can remember where are ocean right out here. I was not healthy and it was ugly very ugly and Charleston and our beaches were but now we can actually see the bottom of the beaches. You know, when we go out we can see the bottom of the ocean there as we go out and I'll hear the water now is clear and Crystal and we still have work to do. Yes, but I think the aquarium is one of the advocates for that. Oh, yeah and having the animals on exhibit and helping others see these animals and experienced these animals when they come.

33:24 To the aquarium is such a surprise for people and a lot of people tell me while I've been to the aquarium I said, will you have many times have you been once well, that's all and they said well, I've seen it I said no you haven't seen I have to go back over and over and over. It's constantly changing and the animals act different every time you go there different and you see you.

34:00 Things you learn new things as you continue to come back.

34:07 True it is true that I've been coming here. Will you been coming here for 20 years? I've been coming here for 16 and I'll learn something new and see something new all the time. And I think that's what's fascinating about this place in a group going to zoos and I already loved animals, but then going to zoos I can I got to see them and see things that I would never see without going to a zoo and and that's why I find zoos and Aquariums powerful cuz you get to see things that you would never get to see on your own and and and discover something new about the world. So I do find aquariums and zoos fasting, but I do I love the do dolphin unit that we're doing. I think that though that if I had to go back and pick one lesson

34:53 That I always enjoy teaching out of all the lessons that we have. I always go back to the topography lesson that we do for the Watershed unit. Yeah. It's like an eye-opener for the water does move from high-elevation to low elevation and look what it can take with it all this. I really like watching that would even teaching it to teachers are sometimes their eyes, why are wide open and I really like that one, but we're all humans and you know, sometimes we just need to be reminded we know these things because it's just that we forget and we don't think about it and so having just reminders and that's what the aquarium is a reminder of

35:45 The wonderful life that we actually have yes undersea that we can't see but because of the aquarium we can experience part of it, right we get to do that more often than most people since we're here more often than most people we get to have that every time we come into this building we get to kind of see that and feel that and I wish more people could have that feeling every day like we get when we get to come to come to work doesn't feel like work twenty years has been exceptional and I hope I'll be I can't say I hope I'll be here. However, you might see me with a cane help each other and enjoy working with you and I'm so thankful for the education department here at the aquarium in the mall last fix so much goes on here.

36:45 Read that the public doesn't seem like you were saying I mean, even the program the probe to programs that you're apart of that's not something that anyone is going to witness when they walk in our building. They're going to see the wonderful aquarium in the wonderful exhibits in the wonderful animals, but they won't see the education that's happening in our classrooms and they won't see the workshops that in the curriculum building that you do as an ELP in as a school programs volunteer. So it's it's neat to be able to do this type of interview to talk about some of those things that. A lot of people don't really get to see when they walk in our in our doors that we get to be a part of all the time. It's been it's been a lot of fun working together a set. The EOP workshops are some of my favorite days do we get to go canoeing or we get to go over to Bulls island or we get to go walk around and and CeCe nature and enjoy working with each other and the other 18 e l

37:45 Bees that get together. So I always enjoy those you a Saturdays.

38:01 Well, I having grown up in South Carolina and like I said and being that native, South Carolinian.

38:11 My legacy with the aquarium would be that my children my grandchildren and my future children will be able to walk in and say, you know Lenny work to volunteer and we need to do something also and we need to support in time efforts financially the aquarium.

38:51 To the point that we can ensure that the aquarium will be here for future children and and transplants to South Carolina to educate.

39:07 The importance of

39:13 Life here on Earth and being good stewards of our life.

39:22 I'm both on land and in water Grand Legacy.

39:32 So my husband and I made a commitment and we did the partners little fish to go up in the hallway and we decided we decided to put that there is a reminder for our family and friends to actually I support the aquarium and and that's really really important. When you think about it. The aquarium has been here for 20 years and it is non-profit and so is still if we expect it to stay and BR Advocate as good stewards we need to support and that's how my family feels at this point. What will your fish say? Will it say Fred and Linda?

40:32 It said on 2019 the Frederick W lents family all into this is been fun. It has been fun at work so much to our our programs here and education department. It's been fun. 13 years will keep it going. This is been a fun interview to fun. Thank you so much. You're real treasure Lake weather.