Miami University graduate student Jordan Marino was published in Animal Keepers’ Forum. Marino’s article, “Zoos and Aquariums Can Pay Their Interns: Analyzing financial data from 501(c)(3)s,” looked at financial data from nonprofits to see if zoos and aquariums had the funding to pay their interns. 

Marino compared data from facilities that were already compensating their interns to see if there was any significant difference between their operating budgets, net income, or revenues. Marino also interviewed facilities with paid internship programs to find out how they came up with the funding. The number one response was that they prioritized it in their budget. The results showed no significant differences and indicated that zoos and aquariums can pay their interns; they just need to prioritize it in their budgets.