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GFS Junior Projects Through My Eyes: Vivienne Porter '26
Every January, GFS juniors embark on a month-long independent study or internship of their own design. We call these Junior Projects. Many of these experiences are off-campus, in workplaces and organizations across Philadelphia (and, sometimes, overseas!). At a pivotal moment in their Upper School journeys, these experiences help students gain insights into potential career paths, or explore more deeply the passions or artistic endeavors that inspire them. Through hands-on work, the juniors have the opportunity to develop new skills, follow their curiosity, and connect with mentors. Students often report that their Junior Project are a life-changing experience, and many go on to pursue careers in related fields.
 
We’ve asked some GFS Juniors to document a day in the life of their Junior Projects and share reflections on their experiences in the field. In this installment, we hear from Vivienne Porter ’26 (pictured above), who is spending her Junior Project at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. There, she is working as a curatorial assistant in the Vertebrate Zoology Department of the Center for Systematic Biology and Evolution.
 

A quick, but cold, 15-minute walk along the parkway to get to The Academy of Natural Sciences by 9 a.m. During this walk, I like to listen to podcasts to distract myself from the freezing temperatures. 

 

When I arrive at the Academy, I take the elevator up to the fourth floor where the Vertebrate Paleontology department is located. I unlock the lab that acts as my home base and immediately turn on the heaters. My supervisor will then tell me what I should do that day. 

 

One task I end up doing a lot is inventory of the mammal collection. I open up giant locked cabinets and record if all of the catalog numbers for a given species are where they belong. This task normally has me smelling like moth balls by the end of the day, but luckily I have gotten used to the strong smell.

 

These are leopard bones that I did inventory of. Along with bones, I also spend a lot of time inventorying animal skins and body mounts. Sometimes, when I’m about to open a cabinet, I have to prepare myself for what could be on the other side, like a giant rat staring at me!

 

Another task I sometimes do during my day is tagging or cleaning reptiles for the Herpetology department. Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians. It’s also where you will find a giant room filled with animals in alcohol jars, like you might see in an evil lair. These are some rough green snakes and a baby black rat snake that I was tagging before putting them back in the jar.

 

I also get to work with minerals. The Academy recently got a new donation of minerals, and I was tasked with unboxing them and labeling them. Some of the minerals are even radioactive.

 

After a day of handling animal bones, dead reptiles, and sometimes pretty minerals, I leave the Academy at 3 p.m. and make my cold walk home.