My Firsts: Blog, Poster, Ocean Dives

My name is Caroline Stroud and I am a sophomore Animal and Veterinary Sciences student. As a volunteer in the fall semester of 2016, I fell in love with the Conservation of Marine Resources Creative Inquiry. Dr. Childress and Kylie invited me to join in the Spring on the Damselfish team, and I am very happy that I did! I worked alongside Abby T. and Sara to make my first research poster. You can see our poster in an earlier blog posted by Dr. Childress!

This spring break I was able to join the team to go to the Florida Keys. It was fascinating to see the animals, reefs, and behaviors we had been discussing in lab. One of my favorites was seeing the Damselfish chase away the Parrotfish.    
I also was able to have my first and second ocean dives! This was unbelievable. I was so amazed by the different creatures and it was peaceful to float in the water column and just take it all in.

I am learning about conducting research, statistical analysis, and much more. And it is only my first semester! I cannot wait for what the future holds for this research team. I am so glad I was able to get to know so many great people. I wish all the graduates the best and I will miss y'all!

Here is a link to a fun video telling you why I decided to join the best CI at Clemson University!
https://spark.adobe.com/video/NGOCCJhVqCQSa