Since I was 5, I’ve been in love with the Salish Sea and the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population. This love has grown into a passion that motivates me to have a career in the marine sciences. In fact, in the spring of 2021, I completed The Whale Museum’s Marine Naturalist Training Program. I’ve created my own tracking system for the SRKW consisting of magnets for each of the eldest females in the family groups and any males that might travel alone or away from the rest of the matriline. As I hear of sightings, either from Orca Network or The Center for Whale Research, these magnets get moved over a map of the Salish Sea that I have framed over a piece of steel. I have also created a personal ID database for killer whale populations around the world with IDs, names, parentage, and birth and death dates that I update as new information is published. In addition to maintaining my database, I listen to hydrophones and associated webcams in my spare time and report my sightings to Orca Network. Each summer, I live on Lopez Island to volunteer with local marine organizations and continue my education and live my passion. Through my Junior and Senior years of high school, I participated in Everett Community College’s Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) Program. ORCA is a marine science based Running Start program focused on building a community of STEM-focused students. Through ORCA, I built a professional network of like-minded colleagues who care about and are invested in the marine sciences, conservation, and the environment. This network continues to help me navigate career opportunities around the Salish Sea and helped me get in contact with even more, responsible, and enthusiastic learners. ORCA’s focus on the marine sciences provided an in-depth, college-level education tailored to my chosen career path in marine biology. This accelerated educational path allowed me to receive opportunities to get into the world of the marine sciences. ORCA also gave me practical experience by providing a college-level education through the lens of marine science. I learned how to interpret scientific data and translate it for a non-technical audience. By learning through a hands-on marine environment, I worked in the local environment, used equipment specific to marine science, and began to build a research portfolio for a career in the field. I did research in my Junior year on Harbor Seal abundance in comparison to Salmonid abundance in the Snohomish River, as well as my final project on a comparison of heavy metal concentrations in sediments and eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Possession Sound and presented it at ORCA’s Possession Sound Student Showcase and Talks. In the future, I hope to do research on marine mammal populations to close the gap in population estimates and to provide information on habitat usage and population trends. I feel it's important to not only watch well-known individuals or populations but also populations or species that are viewed as common. If we ignore the "common" species, we may not notice their decline. This especially goes if we want a world where future generations can see the marine life I am passionate about. I hope to one day work with Cascadia Research Collective, the Center for Whale Research, or any of the other amazing cetacean research programs there are in the Pacific Northwest Region!