As the COAST STEM VISTA, I am working to engage students from all backgrounds in marine science and increase CSU student success in STEM overall. This includes increasing student participation in our existing internship program as well as developing several new programs to create a pipeline of highly skilled students pursuing marine science as a degree option and career choice. My responsibilities include, but aren’t limited to, growing the COAST Summer Student Internship Program and developing the framework for an undergraduate research program that will provide first and second year students with the opportunity to participate in hands-on research. Both of these programs are proven ways to increase undergraduate student interest and retention in marine science and STEM majors. Lastly, I am cataloging and describing marine related career opportunities and pathways to them as a way to encourage students from historically underrepresented groups, first-generation college students and low-income students to pursue marine science and STEM degrees within the CSU. My efforts will further COAST’s grand goal of creating a diverse pool of graduates with the skills needed to succeed in the workforce and serve critical coastal and marine related needs of California and the nation.

I was responsible for aiding in zooplankton collection in the field once a month, running lipid and protein assays on zooplankton samples in the laboratory, and keeping data organized in spreadsheets to determine the energy content of copepods and euphousiids. I presented my work at both Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference and Ocean Sciences Conference in poster form.This work is important for understanding the role that zooplankton play in our local food web, particularly how the energy available to their predators changes over time.