- Kersey Sturdivant
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Ever curious as a child, I knew that some form of science was in my future, although I was in no way set on marine biology. Growing up in landlocked areas, my first love was actually terrestrial science. While surfing the net in the 12th grade, researching various terrestrial science careers, I came across a scientist's personal web page describing his exploits in marine science. This person's page gave a chronology of a recent sea expedition sampling coral reefs. After spending much time divulging into this web page, the wonders of the sea caught me, and I was officially hooked on becoming a marine scientist.
Eager to experience marine science first hand, the summer before college started, I became a research assistant for a microbiologist who was looking at a disease affecting blue crabs. Although the majority of the work was lab related, I was afforded one opportunity to go out on a boat and collect blood samples from the crabs. At that point in time, it was the experience of a lifetime. I had just gotten a taste of what I perceived as "real" marine biology, and I yearned for more. The following summer I applied and got accepted as an intern at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), in Edgewater, MD. That summer at SERC, I did more marine fieldwork than I could have possibly imagined, and I loved every minute of it. Not only did I help participate on my advisor's projects, but also I was allowed to conduct my own independent research project. If you can guess, I went back to my old friend the blue crab.
The following summer, I got an internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I worked at one of NOAA's field stations, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS), in Savannah, GA. My duties here were to help assist the research scientists at the lab with their on-going research and protection of Gray's Reef; I also conducted my own independent project on Loggerhead Sea Turtles that utilized Gray's Reef. In order to study the reef itself, and its inhabitants, I needed to be SCUBA certified, which the research station was kind enough to pay for. Finally I got my first experience at traveling beneath the surface of the water and became completely fascinated in the environment I had been studying. It was a one of a kind experience diving at Gray's Reef, and more so diving to conduct research. Subsequently I returned to intern at the same research station the next summer, before I went off to graduate school. Currently I am attending graduate school at the College of William and Mary's (W&M) School of Marine Science, The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Here I am studying under world-renowned hypoxia expert Bob Diaz, and looking at a systems response to hypoxia, with respect to production. Much as a youth, I know not where my future will take me, but I can guarantee that wherever I end up, I will be immersed in the field of marine science.
