NATCHEZ — The work force at St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge increased by seven in May.

Four local teenagers along with three college students from around the country worked as interns this summer helping the refuge out in a variety of ways, refuge manager Bob Strader said.

Strader said the internship program is valuable for the refuge, as well as the interns themselves.

“It’s a great program. It’s good for the kids; it’s good for us. It’s a really good program,” he said.

The four local interns are made up of three recent high school graduates and one soon-to-be high school senior.

Each got involved with working for the refuge through the Youth Conservation Corp, a national organization that seeks young workers to help out national parks and management areas, Strader said.

“YCC is a program aimed to give high school students experience working, and also educate them on the things we do on the refuge,” he said.

Three of the YCC interns, Raheem Frank, Chris Tucker and Corey Williams, have participated in the program in previous years. Strader said it is nice to have the same guys return each summer.

“(Having the same guys) is really helpful because they already know the safety rules and operational rules,” Strader said. “It’s great because we also get to watch them grow.”

Corvan Day was the only YCC intern who was in his first summer at the refuge. His internship ended Thursday, however, because he reached his 19th birthday and became too old to be involved in the YCC program.

Frank and Tucker are graduates of Natchez High School. Frank, who has worked on the refuge each of the past four summers, plans on attending Copiah-Lincoln in Wesson and Tucker, who is in his third year with YCC, will be headed to U.S. Army basic training in Missouri when his internship ends, he said.

Day is a graduate of Adams County Christian School and he is headed to Mississippi State in the fall. Williams will be a senior at Vidalia High School.

The interns emphasized having the chance to work outside as a positive aspect of their work.

“I’m used to hard work,” Tucker said. “And it’s not all the time you can get fresh air while you work.”

Strader said the YCC interns do a lot of the labor and time intensive work around the refuge, but they also learn aspects of wildlife conservation along the way.

Strader said the YCC interns provided a lot of hard work for the refuge, sometimes even too much.

“Sometimes they require some supervision, this group especially because they work so fast and we have to keep giving them stuff to do,” he said. “They do the work of at least two full-time employees.”

Strader said the program is a benefit to the interns as well.

“I think it’s a good program for them, because it gives them hands-on experience, and maybe potential career opportunities.”

Paul Nelson, one of the college interns, was given the task of being the YCC intern leader.

“I was looking to extend my leadership skills beyond what they are,” Nelson said about why he signed up for the internship.

Nelson, 22, is a student at the University of Wisconsin in River Falls. He is majoring in conservation with a minor in biology and outdoor conservation.

Nelson joined two other college interns, Summer Willie and William Lucas, on the refuge this summer.

Willie, 21, recently graduated from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla., with a degree in environmental studies and public policy.

“I’ve enjoyed (the experience) a lot,” she said. “I’ve been here two months and at first it was a culture shock because I spent most of my time in Pensacola, but I do like it. I think I’ve put out some roots and met people in the community. I really enjoy the work and everyone (at the refuge) is really friendly.”

Willie said she hopes to find a career in environmental administration with the government, so she is hoping this internship will provide a springboard into a career.

William Lucas is an intern from South Carolina who attends the Citadel. He is studying civil and environmental engineering. He is serving as the Forestry and Wildlife intern this summer.

Lucas said his favorite part of the internship is when he gets to go out on the refuge and explore by himself.

“I found some huge tree out in the middle of the woods,” he said. “I named it cottonmouth tree because I found three cottonmouths in it, I almost stepped on one. But, it’s this giant tree that is hollow, and you can look straight up and into the tree and see daylight through the top.”

Strader said they started the college internship program when he came to the refuge approximately three years ago. He said this year’s interns are great workers and very smart.