Another year of summer memories! With the fall schedule sailing into place on September 6, we began reminiscing about this past summer and some of the people who made it one to remember. Despite this summer still not being quite “back to normal,” that didn’t dissuade Emma Day from applying to be a summer intern at CBL and making the most of a busy season.
A Casco Bay fan, Emma has been visiting Long Island since she was little. She has always lived in New England, and grew up in Medway, MA while spending family vacations on Long Island over the summer. Her connection to Casco Bay became even stronger as of recently, when her parents moved out to Long Island and became full-time islanders! As a longstanding visitor to Long Island, Emma mentions that she always had an appreciation for the CBL crew – from the deckhands and captains to the freight hands, ticket agents, and staff.
“It’s been awesome to be a part of the Long Island community, and everyone is so appreciative of what Casco Bay Lines does. I remember when I was younger and would make the trip out to Long Island, it always represented summer and great memories. Now that I’m older, I can really understand how many people use this service daily. I can also now fully appreciate the beauty of the islands, and I love seeing people visit Long Island to experience what I’ve grown up experiencing,” explains Emma.
Emma currently attends The University of Maine in Orono, where she studies Business Management, and will be heading into her senior year this Fall. When she was searching for a summer internship, she was hoping to find something that would allow her to utilize her studies in Business Management while getting first-hand experience in the marketing & events world. Plus, being on the water was an added perk!
“While searching, I had in the back of my mind that I also wanted to spend as much time as possible on Casco Bay, since I’ve been spending my summers here for as long as I can remember,” says Emma. Her educational background, love for Casco Bay, and personal draw to a tight-knit community made her internship at CBL a perfect fit.
Emma joined the team in June as our summer intern working with CBL’s Sales & Marketing Director, Caity Gildart (pssst – read more about Caity and her role here!) Day-to-day, Emma explains that she focused her efforts on event coordination, organization, and administrative work. She spent 3 days working in the ticket office during regular hours, and 2 days working with Caity directly on marketing or events. Although this schedule may seem routine, her tasks and goals changed with what the day – or week – would bring! As CBL was working through summer scheduling changes and service adjustments due to COVID-19 and staffing, Emma rose to the occasion and worked through logistical challenges that impact event coordination and was always ready for what the day may bring.
Through it all, Emma’s favorite part of her CBL internship has been working with people – from our own staff to the islanders and passengers we serve. “When I would take groups over to islands for events, it was a great opportunity to learn from them. Everyone has a different background, a different career, and a different life story. Meeting a wide variety of people in a short amount of time and learning about them in just a few hours was so rewarding!”
As summer comes to an end, Emma is excited to head back to UMaine and achieve a major accomplishment – graduating from college! In terms of her plans for the future, Emma states that Portland will always feel like home. “I would love to live in the Portland area following my graduation in the fall. In the winter, my dream would be to head up to Sugarloaf and be a ski instructor for a season before settling into the rest of my career.”
Thank you, Emma, for all your amazing work this summer. Have a great senior year and best of luck in your future endeavors. We look forward to seeing you around the terminal and aboard a CBL ferry for a visit out to Long Island!