One of the most successful of our ventures over the years has been our internship program. This year, we were honored to have such a stellar intern team with us for the 2023 season - Antonio Armagno and Meghan Forcellati. These two never ceased to amaze us with their knowledge, expertise, and passion for what they do as they created fun and educational experiences for everyone they met. We’re also extremely thankful to our friends and donors for making opportunities like this possible for young scientists. Meghan and Antonio wanted to express their gratitude themselves with short letters to the David B. Jones Foundation for their continuous generosity!

Meghan Forcellati at our Andersen site at the beginning of the 2023 season

“My name is Meghan Forcellati, and I’m one of the field interns for Elevation Science this summer! I’ve been interested in dinosaurs since I was a year and a half old, but my interest in their deeper evolutionary biology implications began after my middle school biology teacher suggested I self-study paleontology in my free time if I wanted to be a researcher.

By reading, and later involving myself in several research projects, I learned a lot more about how science is conducted. However, especially because of the pandemic, the number of opportunities I have had to gain field experience or communicate how fun and exciting science is to people in-person have been very limited. This is why I am very grateful to be interning with the Elevation Science Institute, an organization which fosters citizen science!

Thank you to the donors who funded this internship, especially the David B. Jones Foundation. It has been so fun and rewarding to get people excited about science and interact with the next generation of paleontologists!”

-Meghan Forcellati (she/her)

Antonio Armagno at our Andersen site at the beginning of the 2023 season

“Hello! My name is Antonio Armagno and I am one of your field interns for this 2023 Elevation Science field season! I’ve always been interested in knowing and sharing information about ancient organisms, and BBC’s ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ was my first exposure to the science of paleontology. Imagining prehistoric organisms, what environments they lived in, how they behaved, and why they died are the questions that continue to pull me into paleontology.

I graduated from the University of Montana in 2021 with two degrees; a BA in Biology and a BFA in Theatre. Currently, I am a rising graduate student at DePaul University, where I will be studying paleontology and paleobiology with the talented Dr. Kenshu Shimada. I first came out to the Bighorn Basin with Elevation Science in 2021 as a student in their GEO 491 course, then again as a volunteer in 2022.

As someone with a dramatic background, I love to imagine paleontologists as telling the story of life on Earth, and I aim to tell that story as accurately and precisely as possible. Elevation Science has not only allowed me to hone my skills as a scientist, but also to hone my skills as a science communicator, making scientific inquiry and fieldwork accessible to the public. I have the great privilege of getting people excited about all kinds of science, be it botanical nomenclature or really big dinosaurs!

I am so thankful to all the donors who made this internship possible, and especially the David B. Jones Foundation. Your continued support will provide opportunities for future scientists like myself, who yearn to bring people’s understanding of natural science and paleontology to the next level!”

-Antonio Armagno (he/they)

A Letter to the David B. Jones Foundation