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Aquaculture Specialist and K-12 Educations Coordinator |
Q:
What is your job title?
A: Aquaculture
Specialist and K-12 Educations Coordinator, MIT Sea Grant Program
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Q:
Please give a brief description of your job, specifying what you do
each day.
A: I wear 2
hats in my office. Half of the time I manage our marine finfish
hatchery where we culture haddock, cod, winter flounder and tautog.
The hatchery needs daily maintenance as well as continuous research
on the latest techniques. I also manage the interns and volunteers
that work at the facility. The other half of my job I manage and
develop K-12 education projects for our office. I conduct hatchery
tours and support teachers who are conducting aquaculture in their
classroom. I am the project manager for the Adopt-a-Boat program
which partners up commercial fishermen and teachers to teach marine
resource utilization, marine ecology and life of a fisherman. I am
piloting a grant program for teachers that are teaching marine
science in their classes. Grant writing is also a part of my job.
Most of our projects are supported by grant funding.
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Q:
What have you been working on or teaching lately?
A: Integrating
multi-disciplinary projects into classrooms. Aquaculture, fisheries,
marine biology
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Q:
What most interest you in your job?
A: Larval fish
biology and getting teachers to think outside the box to bring unique
and creative ideas into their classroom.
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Q:
What do you like the least about your job?
A: That we
always have to chase down grant funding to continue supporting our
new projects.
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Q:
What has your career path been?
A: During my
under grad studies, I worked/interned at the Trailside Museum and
Nature Center. This center was also a wildlife rehabilitation center.
I learned how to rehab wildlife and return them to the wild as well
as conduct and design exhibits and programs with the naturalist.
After I graduated, I went on to attend graduate school in marine
biology. After I finished my thesis research for my Masters degree at
Florida Institute of Technology, I took a job at the Kennedy Space
Center as a Mission Operations quaculturist. This position allowed me
to work with a variety of plant and animal species that were being
used for space travel experiments. I also worked closely with
international scientists as well as designed systems and protocols
for these projects. I worked at the Space Center for 1 year. I was
presented the opportunity to take my current position at the MIT Sea
Grant College Program as an aquaculture specialist, so I left Florida
and moved to Boston. I have been with MIT Sea Grant for 5 years.
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Q:
Was there any person who inspired you to do what you're doing
today?
A: I have to
say, I always had fabulous science teachers throughout school. They
all inspired me to get interested in the sciences and pursue my
interests. I owe all the knowledge I have in aquaculture to the staff
at the Atlantic Aquaculture Technologies company where I conducted my
theseis research. They were very helpful and pateint with me during
my project. I learned the ins and outs of aquaculture and farm
management from the best.
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Q:
What attracted you to this career when you were in high school?
A: When I was
in high school I knew I wanted to study the ocean and animals. I
didn't really know what exactly I wanted to do, but I knew it was
going to have to involve water. I also have always been interested in
teaching since I was very young.
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Q:
What careers in your field do you see as promising for the
future?
A: Marine
scientist who study human impacts on our resources. Aquaculture is
still "young" in the states, but it is a growing field. Good math and
science teachers are always needed.
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Q:
What advice do you have for young women who want to work in your
field someday?
A: Try out as many different aspects of the field you think you like.
Internships, volunteer, etc. The more areas you explore, the more you
will get the feel for what you like and do not like.
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