“Dear Anna, Congratulations! On behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs…” were the first words I read with half-asleep eyes, from the email sent at 2 in the morning, Philippine time. The Young Southeast Asian Leadership Program was a program revered by my peers; competition was high, especially for […]
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Always a child who would rather be outside than anywhere else, it was on the cliffs of Acadia on a ranger-led tide pooling walk that I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist. My dreams shifted many times after that, but the path found me again when I entered Northeastern University as part of […]
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I’ve always loved the ocean since I was a little kid. Though I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., my earliest memories are of my parents taking me tidepooling in Northern California and watching the sea otters play at Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve always been captivated by the exotic and mysterious forms that […]
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“You’ve got Maine on the brain,” my father used to tell me. Growing up in Memphis, TN, I often found my thoughts drifting far beyond my urban hometown, captivated by the idea of Maine’s sweeping landscapes and vast beauty. Growing up in the bustling city streets of Memphis cultivated my passion for human connection and […]
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I’m Dylan, a high school student based in San Diego, California. This spring I got to turn my passion for the ocean into hands-on experience at the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR). During the month of May, I worked as a student intern, shadowing CCAR’s Aquaculture Research and Education Program Coordinator […]
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Each summer, Portland, ME fills with cruise ships and foot-traffic; tourists looking for scenic coastal views, local shops, and some of the best regional cuisine in New England. However, these aren’t the only tourists looking for a great meal. Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT), Thunnus thynnus, are a highly migratory species that exist throughout the Atlantic […]
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Walking along the shore always brings back fond memories of when my mother and I would stroll along the Tanzanian coast, where I spent much of my childhood. We used to fly kites, pretend to be mermaids, and marvel at the many sea turtles we’d meet. I distinctly remember the day I saw my first […]
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If you had told me a few years ago that I would be living in Maine and studying how contamination moves through the tidal waters and affects sea-run fish, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. My journey to marine science wasn’t exactly traditional. I grew up in Kansas and earned my bachelor’s degree in Biological […]
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Growing up in Michigan, some of my earliest memories involve spending time in or on the water. I knew from an early age that I wanted to study the ocean so I moved to California to attend the University of San Diego for college. As an undergraduate, I was exposed to a variety of different […]
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I am currently working as a postdoctoral research associate at Maine Sea Grant, engaged in the Marine Debris Challenge Project. The three-year project, Reducing Marine Debris at the Source: Material Replacement and Source Reduction for Single-Use Food Packaging, is supported by the NOAA National Sea Grant Program. As part of the project, a cross-disciplinary team, including members […]
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