Contributed by: Jessica Schaefer Half a dozen bright yellow measuring tapes snake through the water, lined up perpendicular to the shoreline along a rocky stretch of coast.  Under a bright sun, teams of middle schoolers work along the transect lines, counting, recording notes, shouting out Hawaiian or Latin names, and fighting a losing battle to...

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Finding my SOEST niche: From occupational therapy to mathematics to biological oceanography

 Contributed by Chantel Chang I had invested in a master’s degree and four years of work experience, but I could not imagine another 40+ years of constantly being around people in pain. As I, the occupational therapist (a.k.a. the pain bearer), gazed upon the agony in the patients’ faces during therapy, I realized that my...

Name the Three Types of Rock: Balancing Music and Minerals

Contributed by Christine A. Waters Igneous Geologist Under Pressure Graduate school is an inevitably stressful experience. I entered with a mix of feelings: optimism, adventure, skepticism, motivation, and fear. For the first two years, in an attempt to channel these emotions in a positive direction, I practiced extreme discipline which I hoped would contribute to...

From garbage sorter to marine bioacoustician

By: Brendan Rideout It's hard to pinpoint when my path to grad school began, but one possible beginning is the summer after graduating high school. Going into my final year of high school, I knew I wanted to go to university (I'd known this since I could spell 'university') but still hadn't chosen a major....