Summer of 2019

This summer I had the opportunity to go down to the Florida Keys with the Childress lab. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The first time we went diving was life-changing. Being so close to the wildlife including sharks and rays was unforgettable. I distinctly remember at one point swimming through a group of school of what seemed like thousands of fish. It was breathtaking. As I swam through them they would break rank, allowing me to swim untouched through their midst and converged behind me. It felt like something out of a dream, and I will always carry the memory of my first dive. We spent the next week and a half that I was there doing reef surveys every day. It was definitely harder than what I thought it would be. However, I enjoyed every moment of being underwater. Every dive had something interesting to reveal, and I always took a moment to hang in the water column and observe the individual beauty of each sight. My stay in the Florida Keys has definitely impacted the way I view the world and confirmed my aspiration to become a marine researcher.