Volunteering at CMA

Guest Engagement and the Dive Team at Clearwater Marine Aquarium — scuba work inside habitats, and a tour of Eckerd College’s marine science campus.

Jacob in scuba gear underwater in a CMA habitat, holding a cleaning brush

In July 2026, Jacob spent two weeks as a volunteer at Clearwater Marine Aquarium — his first stretch on staff-side work after years as a marine science camper.

He worked in Guest Engagement and on the Dive Team. Guest Engagement meant learning how the aquarium identifies individual animals and how daily care actually runs, not only how exhibits look from the public side. The Dive Team put him in the water.

Jacob wearing a Clearwater Marine Aquarium volunteer polo and badge lanyard — First volunteer weeks at CMA — Guest Engagement and the Dive Team.

On dive days he suited up in the tank room — wetsuit, regulator, tanks on the rack — then went into habitats to clean glass and rockwork from the inside. Staff invited him back when he is in town.

Jacob in a wetsuit checking dive gear beside a rack of scuba tanks — Gear check before a habitat dive: tanks, regulator, and the rinse station.

Jacob in scuba gear inside a CMA habitat, looking through the glass while holding a cleaning brush — Inside a habitat — cleaning the glass the public looks through.

Jacob in scuba gear standing in CMA’s training pool with dive staff — Training pool time with Dive Team staff before habitat work.

During that Clearwater stretch he also stood with Jamal Galves at the Dr. James “Buddy” Powell Manatee Rehabilitation Center — the building CMA named for the scientist Jacob met in 2024.

Jacob with Jamal Galves at the Dr. James Buddy Powell Manatee Rehabilitation Center — With Jamal Galves at the rehabilitation center named for Dr. Buddy Powell.

Away from the aquarium he paddleboarded mangrove shoreline and watched a manatee pass under the board — the same animals he had helped assess in Belize, this time swimming on their own.

Jacob on a paddleboard in mangrove water with a manatee visible just under the surface — A manatee under the board in the mangroves — wild, not on an exam tarp.

The same visit included a tour of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Eckerd’s marine science program, and a campus on the water, is the college Jacob hopes to attend.

The field seasons that led here are Belize 2025 and Belize 2026. The app he tested on the boats is The manatee breath tracker.

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