- Noelle Relles
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science
At a young age my parents took us on family vacations to SeaWorld in Florida and Marine Land in Canada. In third grade I told my dad I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up and he broke my heart when he told me that by the time I was old enough they wouldn’t need marine biologists anymore.
I started my undergraduate career at Cornell University as a human development major, but the summer between my freshman and sophomore years I attended a course in the ecology of animal behavior at Shoals Marine Lab and knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The following Fall semester I took a course in marine ecology and found my professor, Dr. Drew Harvell, so inspiring that I would some day like to become a professor and inspire future undergraduates and graduate students in marine science. She piqued my interest in coral reef ecology and marine invertebrates and taught me not to become too focused in my interests and to remain open to possibility. I spent that spring taking part in Cornell’s field course in the science of environmental study on the Big Island of Hawai’i where I learned about geology, marine biology, volcanology, oceanography and local culture. This was a life-changing experience for me and solidified my desire to pursue a career in marine science.
I graduated from Cornell in December of 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Study that included studying biology, ecology and oceanography. My interests are broad and as an incoming graduate student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science this Fall I am looking forward to exploring them. I will be working in Dr. Mark Patterson’s lab in the department of Biological Sciences and am excited to expand my knowledge of coral reefs and benthic communities in particular, as well as learn about new technologies advancing the world of marine science.
