Having grown up in New Jersey, I was fortunate to spend a lot of time at the beach. As such, I developed a deep connection to the ocean and became interested in how the ocean influences our world. I spent my undergraduate education bouncing between science and policy, ultimately obtaining...
Austin Grubb
Being born and raised near a small state park in a rural part of south-central Pennsylvania helped me develop a love for the natural world at an early age. Though I grew up in landlocked PA, the ocean, and especially marine life, was as fascinating to me as the green...
Schuyler Nardelli
Growing up in the Adirondack mountains of northern New York, I fell in love with the outdoors at an early age. Most of my childhood was spent exploring the mountains and rivers near my home, and by high school I knew I wanted to pursue an education in environmental science....
L. Fernando Pareja
When I was a kid, little did I know that growing up close to the Caribbean Sea would set me up on a lifelong path of earth sciences and engineering; an experience marked by adventure, learning, and derring-do. My early inclinations towards history and oceanography were not incompatible in Cartagena,...
Mike Acquafredda
I’m originally from Matawan, New Jersey. As a young man, scouting gave me the opportunity to explore and fall in love with nature. My favorite camping trip every year was to Sandy Hook, a peninsula that separates the Raritan Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. There, I caught fish, dug in...
Emily Slesinger
The ocean has always been home to me. I grew up along the beaches of San Diego, and would take annual family vacations to Cape Cod, which probably sparked my earliest intrigue into marine science as I started comparing the different oceans. And while I’ve always been fascinated by the...
Stanley Ko
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I spent most of my time playing handball like most teenagers in Brooklyn. Although I studied science in high school, I had not heard of oceanography until I joined the Navy. I served aboard the submarine USS Greeneville as a Sonar Technician and...
Isabel Hong
I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where my backyard provided many opportunities to study and enjoy nature. I received my B.A. in Geology at Whitman College analyzing the geochemistry of Columbia River Basalt paleosols. Following graduation, I completed an internship at the U.S. Geological Survey as a...
Rachel Gula
I grew up in a small town in the Chaparral just east of San Diego, exploring places like the tide pools, Torrey Pines State Park (lovely ocean vistas and beaches), and SeaWorld. Though interested in marine science, I headed towards medical school during my three years at Houghton College in...
Joseph Caracappa
From my early roots in suburban New Jersey, it wasn’t until my family moved to the quiet, rural country in southern New Hampshire that I discovered my love of nature. This change of scenery helped foster a conservation mindset and an appreciation of the services healthy ecosystems provide human communities....