I am a first generation marine science student at CSUMB, and I am originally from Bakersfield, California. My dream as a child was to become a scientist or inventor of some sort and make discoveries that would benefit society. It wasn’t until I visited the Long Beach Aquarium with my dad, that I realized what I want to dedicate my life to. This amazing experience is why I feel so strongly about the importance of outreach and education. My ultimate goal is to obtain my PhD and focus on deep sea research and exploration.

 I am fascinated by early diverging organisms such as ctenophores and what they can tell us about our own human development. I have a past working in clinical research, so I would like to combine the human sciences and marine sciences for my grad school research if possible. Currently, I am working with Marine Life Studies, an amazing nonprofit organization located here in Moss Landing that helps disentangle whales caught in fishing gear. Through this position, I have been able to partake in marine mammal research, strengthen my data entry skills, and pick up some boating skills along the way. Outside of class, I enjoy art and music. In fact, dabbling in music production made acoustic scoring of dolphins much easier for me to understand because of my previous experiences with waveforms!