Natalie Holden Designs Experiences People Remember During Florida Aquarium Internship

For Natalie Holden, design has always been about creating experiences people remember long after they leave. This summer, she did exactly that in her internship at the Florida Aquarium.

The Jacksonville native, a JU junior, spent her summer as a themed experiences graphic design intern at the aquarium in Tampa, where her work spanned creative concept projects, design development and collaboration across nearly every department in the building. Some days, she even got to meet the animals.

"Every day was different," she said. "I attended creative services meetings, helped with design and concept projects that involved lots of departments across the aquarium - and sometimes I got to meet and see animals, which was really fun."

Holden is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration with a minor in entrepreneurship and is a member of the Cost Honors College. She credits the University's smaller class sizes and tight-knit department communities with preparing her for the internship opportunity. Holden gave special kudos to her Creative Entrepreneurship and Illustration professors, Katie Webber and Nicholas McNally, for pushing her to apply and polish her portfolio ahead of the internship.

At the aquarium, she discovered brand-new dimensions of design. "I learned how much consideration the Creative Services team has to put into projects because of the animals' well-being and their habitats, which all surround the guests' experience," she said. "The cross-departmental collaboration offered a behind-the-scenes look at how large creative organizations operate."

"Natalie brings both technical skill and genuine curiosity to every project she touches," said McNally. "The Florida Aquarium internship was a perfect fit because themed experience design demands the same thing we ask of students in the classroom: to think beyond the 2D surface and consider how every design decision shapes the way people feel about and interact with a space."

For Holden, the internship was a direct step toward her long-term goal of working in themed entertainment, designing the immersive details that leave lasting impressions on guests long after they head home.