I have chosen to research STEM because our world needs people to generate novel ways to save the Earth's oceans and its beautiful creatures. Especially, when it comes to the effects of climate change. These effects will do incredible damage to the ocean and marine organisms; more damage than we can imagine. However, there is hope. Oceanographers, biologists, molecular scientists, economists, and climate scientists are creating multidisciplinary studies to find new ways to help marine organisms survive these harsh conditions. For example, one team created lights to be put onto bleached corals to attract their food source to help them eat. The study found that corals eat 3x more with a light momentarily shining at night than the coral who had no lights at all. The experimental corals were thicker as well, and showed that there was hope in bringing back coral reefs, and the organisms that used them as their habitats. Our world needs more studies like this, and I want to be a part of them. Studying STEM, specifically marine biology, would allow me to be a part of these teams. Having marine science knowledge would ensure that multidisciplinary teams such as these have someone that will advocate for marine creatures' health, population growth, and human food resources. This is extremely important because if the animals are healthy and repopulating, then our marine food resources will likely be healthy and seeing higher populations as well. Healthier food resources also means that there will be less cleaning needed for food production, and resulting in a lower cost for consumers. Additionally, I will am so certain that there needs to be more people out in the ocean to find new ways to protect these ecosystems that I am studying to be a scientific diver. Scientific divers can safely go where many cannot, which means that only a few of us have access to certain areas of the ocean to conduct experiments. I want to be down in the field because I know that these projects need me. I have the passion to think outside the norm in order to propel us to discover new scientific advancements ways to restore our oceans and make sure that our food resources are safe for generations to come. However, I also hope to have an impact on my STEM field by diversify marine sciences since my experience in this field is isolating. Throughout my collegiate education journey, I was the only Black individual in my marine science courses. This happened throughout my Bachelor’s, Master’s and is still very present as a current Ph.D. student. I am the only Black woman in my department, and the only one in oceanography. It’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who look like me in the field. I want to see a change. To make change, I will build an interdisciplinary network with student and staff-operated diversity programs to relay opportunities for internships, conferences, and lab experience and diversify STEM programs. Every step of the way, I will hire Black interns, research assistants, and PhD students to make sure that I can nurture into incredible Black marine scientists. As Maya Angelou said, " In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength". Allowing Black excellence to thrive in a white-dominated field will lead to the discovery of new ideas, techniques, and incredible work that I truly believe will change the world for the better. I hope to be an uplifting force that allows other Black marine scientists to see that succeeded in living my dreams, so they can too.

Most people don’t expect 2nd graders to know exactly what they want to do in life. Especially from a young Black girl. But my mother, who raised me by herself, always said, “you always exceed my expectations about the world”. Inscribing those words in my heart, I decided to become a marine biologist, and immediately begin my journey in an under-researched STEAM field. I am pursuing my PhD in Biological Oceanography within Johns Hopkins University where I have received the Competitive Graduate Student Fellowship from Maryland Sea Grant and presented my first scientific paper at the National Shellfisheries Association Conference. Growing up, my family get togethers always had to have raw oysters (even though my mother and I would rather eat sand). However, one year, everyone who had an oyster got worryingly sick. They were fine the next day, but the rapidness of their illness always stayed with me. I later found out that the reason my family got sick was because the oysters were caught in waters that had a recent bacterial infection. These bacterial infections can make humans very sick. This incident inspired me to be a marine biologist that protects people from sickness. I plan to do this by designing innovative software to track detrimental bacteria, which can let fishermen and fisherwomen know where they should not fish. This will also help consumers because there will be a lesser amount of infected marine food sources being sold in stores. My family shaped what type of marine biologist I want to be in more ways than one. From an early age, my grandfather taught me that community is only strong if we all pitch in to help and teach each other. He taught me that everyone deserves help and guidance. I grew up packing boxes of canned goods and necessary items for the homeless, teaching soccer skills to children with physical and mental disabilities and tutored other students while getting my bachelor’s degree. All these experiences pushed me to become a marine biologist that fights for social justice, provides multifaceted resources, and creates a safe place for people of all backgrounds to learn. I carry these goals in STEAM studies, and with them in mind, they help guide me to the improvement in diversity and equity in my field. I believe that getting access to STEAM fields should be something that anyone can have the opportunity to do. From any culture, socioeconomic background, or gender. As a Black woman in a STEAM field, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who look like me in the field. I want to see a change. These feelings pushed me to find a way to get more people of color, especially women, interested in STEAM fields. I aim to build an interdisciplinary network with student and staff-operated diversity programs to relay opportunities for internships, conferences, lab experience and diversify STEAM programs. To accomplish this goal, I aim to apply to a four-year institution for a faculty position, where I can continue to research and can mentor my students. Being a professor will allow me to introduce marine science in a fun and approachable way while letting students of color see a person who looks like them in a role people usually don’t associate with a Black woman. I aim to educate these students, provide them with opportunities to gain laboratory experience, and advise them on writing applications for the workforce in their desired STEAM field. I can show them that since I get to live my dreams, then they can too.

How I Chose Environmental Sciences By: Leone Yisrael No one expects a 2nd grader to wake up and decide to study the microbes inside of a squid. They usually expect these young minds to focus on flashy careers like doctors, firefighters or even ballerinas. However, there are some 2nd graders out there who base their entire career on a pretty picture in a science book. That’s how I chose my lifelong passion. I saw a picture of a scuba diver swimming over a coral reef and numerous vibrant fish species in my science book. This picture inspired me to want to study these beautiful animals and environments I had never even seen before. I became more interested in environmental studies after I took an Ecology course at Louisiana State University because the textbook contained a detailed chapter about microscopic organisms. The chapter covered how dumping nutrients into the ocean can cause harmful algal blooms, thus increasing the number of food poisoning cases. As I read this chapter, I remembered a family reunion when my relatives brought some fresh oysters to the event. My mother believes raw oysters are not appetizing in the slightest, thus did not allow my brothers and I to eat any. About two days later, everyone in the house was stricken with food poisoning. Everyone except my mother, my brothers, and myself. Since this incident occurred when I was nine, I assumed the oysters were rotten. But after this lecture, I went to the NOAA database to see if a major phytoplankton bloom occurred during the time of the reunion and found that there had been a large bloom of Karenia brevis. This dinoflagellate can cause food poisoning since its toxins can be taken up by filter feeders, like oysters. I was absolutely fascinated to find out what caused my family so much distress during that time was a microscopic organism. I thought it was incredible how something so small could cause so much change to one’s internal system. Additionally, I found it interesting that this entire instance was caused by anthropogenic events. This pushed me to study how anthropogenic events can affect marine invertebrates since humans rely on them as a food source. If we can find out what is causing our food source to deplete or cause illness, then we can implement strategies to mitigate these events and clean up the environments our food sources live in. Nevertheless, the final reason I pursue marine environmental science is because of a lack of diversity in scientific fields. I was the only Black individual in my marine environmental courses during my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Additionally, I am one of four Black women in my department and the only one in oceanography. It happened to be by chance that three out of the four of us are in the LGBTQ+ community. However, it is not a common occurrence throughout the rest of our department. As a Black bisexual woman in STEM, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who resemble me and my likeness in the field. I want to see a change. My family taught me the best way to see change is to be the change.

No one expects a 2nd grader to wake up and decide to study cephalopod health reflecting ocean health. They usually expect these young minds to focus on flashy careers like doctors, firefighters or even ballerinas. However, there are some 2nd graders out there who base their entire career on a pretty picture in a science book. That’s how I chose my lifelong passion! What makes me an ideal candidate for this scholarship is my dedication for pursing marine science, and I want to use my scholarship to benefit those in the Black and LGBTQ+ community. When attending my oceanography classes, I noticed a lack of diversity in scientific environments. I was the only Black and bisexual individual in my upper-level marine biology courses. This trend followed me throughout my Bachelor’s, Master’s and is still very present as a PhD student. I am one of four Black women in my department, and the only Black bisexual woman in oceanography. As a Black and bi-woman in STEM, it’s disheartening to see little to no representation of people who look like me in the field. I want to see a change. These feelings pushed me to find a way to get more people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, especially women, interested in scientific fields. I aim to build an interdisciplinary network with student and staff-operated diversity programs to relay opportunities for internships, conferences, lab experience and diversify the university. Unexpectedly, my focus on ocean and marine organisms health stems from an introductory Ecology class because the textbook contained a detailed chapter about microscopic organisms. The chapter covered how the dumping of nutrients into the ocean can cause harmful algal blooms, thus increasing the number of food poisoning cases. As I read this chapter, I remembered a family reunion when my great uncles and aunts brought some fresh oysters to the event. My mother believes that raw oysters are not appetizing in the slightest, and thus did not allow my brothers and I to eat any. About two days later, everyone in the house was stricken with food poisoning. Everyone except my mother, my brothers, and myself. Since this incident occurred when I was nine years old, I assumed the oysters were rotten. But after this lecture, I went to the NOAA database to see if there was a major phytoplankton bloom during the time of the reunion and found that there had been a large bloom of Karenia brevis. This dinoflagellate can cause food poisoning since their toxins can easily be taken up by filter feeders, like oysters. I was absolutely enthralled to find that what caused my family so much distress during that time was a microscopic organism. It was incredible how something so small, and caused by anthropogenic events, could cause so much change to one’s internal system. This scholarship will help me pursue my long-term goal of becoming a mentor and professor for a 4-year institution, that equally focuses on research and instruction/mentorship. This scholarship can provide me with funds to conduct my research and give me the opportunity to advance my teaching skills by working with volunteers and interns who want to work on my projects. Furthermore, this project will provide research and learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, especially those in underrepresented groups. Having my initial project funded would allow me to start my research as soon as the Fall 2022 semester and bring in volunteers right from the beginning. This would mean that my volunteers would be able to gain more experience while working alongside me, which would benefit their future STEM careers.