Dedicated and driven, I found a way to volunteer my Fridays at The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) Monterey Bay Operations (MBO) without transportation, where I experienced the importance of communication and leadership in high-pressure situations. Before I knew it, I was one of the most experienced volunteers on my team in my seal and sea lion medical and husbandry abilities. Night feeds for the day’s rescues involve small groups of people entering a pen with one of the rescued animals to restrain, tube feed, and provide fluids. My supervisor often placed me in the position of orchestrating, leading, and teaching new volunteers in pens. Because we work with wild animals, active and calm communication is key; we enter the pen with a plan in mind but are alert and ready to adapt.

I jumped at the opportunity to mentor a small group of underrepresented high school students in completing and presenting STEM projects through the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Watsonville Area Teens Conserving Habitats (WATCH) program. I used this as an opportunity to discuss the college application process and the transition into college life. Having gone through the college application process without counseling or parental assistance, I felt I could serve as a role model as a student pursuing a STEM degree at a four-year institution.

As a young environmentalist, facing climate change has been overwhelming at times, so when I learned about microplastic emissions and a solution for this marine debris mitigation, I decided to take action by starting the #yesfilter social media campaign. I worked with an environmental educator and marketing designer to create the #yesfilter website dedicated to compiling microfiber research, solutions, and resources. To share our project goals and hopes for the CSUMB community, I have given invited presentations to CSUMB Marine Science Service Learning classes, and I am excited to continue to lead this project through its growing stages.

Working as a UROC writing fellow taught me about teaching, mentoring, and my own writing. After years of completing research applications of my own, I was funded to facilitate weekly individual and small group meetings, provide constructive feedback, and encourage student participation with UROC scholars to develop professional writing and presentation strategies. During this semester, I also participated in weekly professional development meetings to learn teaching and peer-review strategies. I learned to provide valuable feedback on writing and to adapt these activities for online platforms (Zoom, Goreact) due to COVID-19. I am continuing to build my mentorship skills and am gaining workshop/curriculum design experience this summer (more to come on this!).