Most people don’t expect 2nd graders to know exactly what they want to do in life. Especially from a young Black girl. But my mother, who raised me by herself, always said, “you always exceed my expectations about the world”. Inscribing those words in my heart, I decided to become a marine biologist, and immediately begin my journey in an under-researched STEAM field. I am pursuing my PhD in Biological Oceanography within Johns Hopkins University where I have received the Competitive Graduate Student Fellowship from Maryland Sea Grant and presented my first scientific paper at the National Shellfisheries Association Conference. Growing up, my family get togethers always had to have raw oysters (even though my mother and I would rather eat sand). However, one year, everyone who had an oyster got worryingly sick. They were fine the next day, but the rapidness of their illness always stayed with me. I later found out that the reason my family got sick was because the oysters were caught in waters that had a recent bacterial infection. These bacterial infections can make humans very sick. This incident inspired me to be a marine biologist that protects people from sickness. I plan to do this by designing innovative software to track detrimental bacteria, which can let fishermen and fisherwomen know where they should not fish. This will also help consumers because there will be a lesser amount of infected marine food sources being sold in stores. My family shaped what type of marine biologist I want to be in more ways than one. From an early age, my grandfather taught me that community is only strong if we all pitch in to help and teach each other. He taught me that everyone deserves help and guidance. I grew up packing boxes of canned goods and necessary items for the homeless, teaching soccer skills to children with physical and mental disabilities and tutored other students while getting my bachelor’s degree. All these experiences pushed me to become a marine biologist that fights for social justice, provides multifaceted resources, and creates a safe place for people of all backgrounds to learn. I carry these goals in STEAM studies, and with them in mind, they help guide me to the improvement in diversity and equity in my field. I believe that getting access to STEAM fields should be something that anyone can have the opportunity to do. From any culture, socioeconomic background, or gender. As a Black woman in a STEAM field, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who look like me in the field. I want to see a change. These feelings pushed me to find a way to get more people of color, especially women, interested in STEAM fields. I aim to build an interdisciplinary network with student and staff-operated diversity programs to relay opportunities for internships, conferences, lab experience and diversify STEAM programs. To accomplish this goal, I aim to apply to a four-year institution for a faculty position, where I can continue to research and can mentor my students. Being a professor will allow me to introduce marine science in a fun and approachable way while letting students of color see a person who looks like them in a role people usually don’t associate with a Black woman. I aim to educate these students, provide them with opportunities to gain laboratory experience, and advise them on writing applications for the workforce in their desired STEAM field. I can show them that since I get to live my dreams, then they can too.

During my educational journey from 2015 – 2021, I watched six loved ones pass away due to unexpected cardiac arrest, cancer, and illness. But the losses that hit my heart the hardest were the passing of my grandfather in the summer before I started college, and when my great aunt (grandfather’s sister) passed after the first semester of my PhD in Biological Oceanography. Grandaddy passed away from a heart attack while I was at freshman orientation with my mother, and my great aunt passed away from COVID a day after Christmas. They were my biggest cheerleaders when it came to education. Especially, Aunt Lois. She was the first person in the family to get a PhD, studying Veterinary Science, and was thrilled I decided to get one too. So, it was devastating that one of my inspirations to get a PhD was no longer with me. While going to school, grief is a difficult entity to work through because it lives with you. There were days I burst into tears over my homework because I smelled familiar cologne, and there were days during study sessions when memories of silly dance moves and red lipstick just made me smile instead of sad. Along with grief, I had to work through so much guilt, because I believed I was the reason that my mother could not be at her father’s bedside when he passed. She never blamed me, but I did. It was a lot to work through, but I’m glad I made it to a better place with their passings. Despite my grief, my love for marine biology grew over the years. Ever since I was in 2nd grade, I told Grandaddy and Aunt Lois that I wanted to be a marine biologist that changed the world, they always said I could achieve anything I put my mind to. To achieve that dream, I did everything I could to immerse myself in STEM and geosciences courses to be a marine biologist that leaves a positive impact on the world. The reason why I’m passionate about these subjects is because we only have one world to live on, and it is now more important than ever that we create ways to utilize resources efficiently and sustainably. I want to create a system fishermen and fisherwomen can use to avoid detrimental bacterial infections and hypoxia hotspots in the ocean; areas that have high amounts of bacteria that cause fish/human illness and low oxygen in the water. This would make fishing resources more sustainable since fishermen wouldn’t have to waste fuel going to a bad fishing site and decrease the use of fossil fuels. Additionally, less infected fish being caught in nets means less infected fish winding up in an unsuspecting customer’s stomach. Currently, I am studying how different marine invertebrates are affected by hypoxic waters, and which invertebrates absorb more detrimental bacteria. The research would provide a novel model species to be used to obtain bacterial information. Winning this scholarship would immensely aid me in funding my higher education. I am at a standstill since I do not have the funds to process the samples. I’m saving as much money as I can while working in the lab and continuing my PhD, but I worry that it is not enough. I love our planet, and I want to be a beacon of light for our world. I know I can program new ways for us to live happily and safely on this planet. I truly believe I can achieve my dream and make my Grandaddy and Aunt Lois proud.

How I Chose Environmental Sciences By: Leone Yisrael No one expects a 2nd grader to wake up and decide to study the microbes inside of a squid. They usually expect these young minds to focus on flashy careers like doctors, firefighters or even ballerinas. However, there are some 2nd graders out there who base their entire career on a pretty picture in a science book. That’s how I chose my lifelong passion. I saw a picture of a scuba diver swimming over a coral reef and numerous vibrant fish species in my science book. This picture inspired me to want to study these beautiful animals and environments I had never even seen before. I became more interested in environmental studies after I took an Ecology course at Louisiana State University because the textbook contained a detailed chapter about microscopic organisms. The chapter covered how dumping nutrients into the ocean can cause harmful algal blooms, thus increasing the number of food poisoning cases. As I read this chapter, I remembered a family reunion when my relatives brought some fresh oysters to the event. My mother believes raw oysters are not appetizing in the slightest, thus did not allow my brothers and I to eat any. About two days later, everyone in the house was stricken with food poisoning. Everyone except my mother, my brothers, and myself. Since this incident occurred when I was nine, I assumed the oysters were rotten. But after this lecture, I went to the NOAA database to see if a major phytoplankton bloom occurred during the time of the reunion and found that there had been a large bloom of Karenia brevis. This dinoflagellate can cause food poisoning since its toxins can be taken up by filter feeders, like oysters. I was absolutely fascinated to find out what caused my family so much distress during that time was a microscopic organism. I thought it was incredible how something so small could cause so much change to one’s internal system. Additionally, I found it interesting that this entire instance was caused by anthropogenic events. This pushed me to study how anthropogenic events can affect marine invertebrates since humans rely on them as a food source. If we can find out what is causing our food source to deplete or cause illness, then we can implement strategies to mitigate these events and clean up the environments our food sources live in. Nevertheless, the final reason I pursue marine environmental science is because of a lack of diversity in scientific fields. I was the only Black individual in my marine environmental courses during my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Additionally, I am one of four Black women in my department and the only one in oceanography. It happened to be by chance that three out of the four of us are in the LGBTQ+ community. However, it is not a common occurrence throughout the rest of our department. As a Black bisexual woman in STEM, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who resemble me and my likeness in the field. I want to see a change. My family taught me the best way to see change is to be the change.

No one expects a 2nd grader to wake up and decide to study cephalopod health reflecting ocean health. They usually expect these young minds to focus on flashy careers like doctors, firefighters or even ballerinas. However, there are some 2nd graders out there who base their entire career on a pretty picture in a science book. That’s how I chose my lifelong passion! What makes me an ideal candidate for this scholarship is my dedication for pursing marine science, and I want to use my scholarship to benefit those in the Black and LGBTQ+ community. When attending my oceanography classes, I noticed a lack of diversity in scientific environments. I was the only Black and bisexual individual in my upper-level marine biology courses. This trend followed me throughout my Bachelor’s, Master’s and is still very present as a PhD student. I am one of four Black women in my department, and the only Black bisexual woman in oceanography. As a Black and bi-woman in STEM, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who look like me in the field. I want to see a change. These feelings pushed me to find a way to get more people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, especially women, interested in scientific fields. I aim to build an interdisciplinary network with student and staff-operated diversity programs to relay opportunities for internships, conferences, lab experience and diversify the university. Unexpectedly, my focus on ocean and marine organisms health stems from an introductory Ecology class because the textbook contained a detailed chapter about microscopic organisms. The chapter covered how the dumping of nutrients into the ocean can cause harmful algal blooms, thus increasing the number of food poisoning cases. As I read this chapter, I remembered a family reunion when my great uncles and aunts brought some fresh oysters to the event. My mother believes that raw oysters are not appetizing in the slightest, and thus did not allow my brothers and I to eat any. About two days later, everyone in the house was stricken with food poisoning. Everyone except my mother, my brothers, and myself. Since this incident occurred when I was nine years old, I assumed the oysters were rotten. But after this lecture, I went to the NOAA database to see if there was a major phytoplankton bloom during the time of the reunion and found that there had been a large bloom of Karenia brevis. This dinoflagellate can cause food poisoning since their toxins can easily be taken up by filter feeders, like oysters. I was absolutely enthralled to find that what caused my family so much distress during that time was a microscopic organism. It was incredible how something so small, and caused by anthropogenic events, could cause so much change to one’s internal system. This scholarship will help me pursue my long-term goal of becoming a mentor and professor for a 4-year institution, that equally focuses on research and instruction/mentorship. This scholarship can provide me with funds to conduct my research and give me the opportunity to advance my teaching skills by working with volunteers and interns who want to work on my projects. Furthermore, this project will provide research and learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, especially those in underrepresented groups. Having my initial project funded would allow me to start my research as soon as the Fall 2022 semester and bring in volunteers right from the beginning. This would mean that my volunteers would be able to gain more experience while working alongside me, which would benefit their future STEM careers.