LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Prior to graduate school, I received my B.S. in Biological Sciences and B.A. in Chinese Studies at the University of South Carolina, Columbia (aka the original USC). While studying science and a foreign language does not seem like the most intuitive combination, as the globe becomes more connected culturally and environmentally, scientists need to become more connected as well. I believe that the best way to work with international scientists and communities is to learn about each others’ cultures as well as ecosystems. In 2016, I spent 4 months studying abroad in Chengdu, Sichuan, China to improve my language skills, and in 2018, I received the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship from the Taiwanese Ministry of Education, which allowed me to study Chinese for six months in Taipei. In the future, I plan to combine my scientific and Chinese language skills to compare invasive species populations in both their native and invaded habitats.

COMMUNITY

In addition to science and asking questions about the world, I am also passionately involved with my local communities in several ways:

• Mentoring: Currently, I actively seek to mentor undergrad students through the CMSI Mentorship Program and the BML-SRJC internship program. I love working with undergrads to help them gain research experience or just help them think through their post-grad careers. If you are an undergrad interested in gaining research experience in seaweed ecology, let me know!

• Graduate Group in Ecology (GGE): Since beginning graduate school in 2018, I have been actively involved in leadership roles in my graduate and laboratory communities. My first and second year of grad school, I served as first an integral member and then chair of the social committee, and during the 2019-2020 academic year, I was one of three co-chairs for the Ecology Graduate Student Association. In addition, each year I have been a TA for the Odyssey, a week-long bonding experience for incoming GGE students.

• Bodega Marine Science Association (BMSA): I am currently both the VP of BMSA (helping organize BML functions and improve life for permanent students and staff at BML) and the representative for the graduate students at Bodega Marine Lab in the UC Davis wide Graduate Student Assembly (working with other students and the administration to bridge the two campuses and address and find solutions to problems that graduate students at this remote marine lab face).

• Aquatic fitness and education: see Outreach