PLT Rough Draft No. 1

Ever since I was young, I knew I was passionate about animals and our environment. I spent the majority of my youth in the woodsy outdoors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Over the years I have acquired a profound appreciation and a unique relationship with the world we live in. Up until I moved into college, I had never lived a day of my life without an animal of some kind to come home to. Making this transition has only solidified my knowledge that a major in Biology, Environmental Science, or Animal Behavior is what is right for me. I chose to explore Marine Biology because this major is tied into not only the environment, but the organisms that inhabit it. As I move forward in this exploration, I am hoping to learn as much about it as possible while keeping an open mind about other potential options.

FINAL DRAFT

Project No. 1 Final Draft

Ever since I was young, I knew I was passionate about animals and our environment. I spent the majority of my youth in the woodsy outdoors of New Hampshire, right on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Over the years I have acquired a profound appreciation and a unique relationship with the world we live in. Up until I moved into college, I had never lived a day of my life without an animal of some kind to come home to. Making this transition has only solidified my knowledge that a major in Biology, Environmental Science, or Animal Behavior is what is right for me. I chose to explore Marine Biology because this major is tied into not only the environment, but the organisms that inhabit it. As I move forward in this exploration, I am hoping to learn as much about this Major as possible, while keeping an open mind about other potential options. 

Collin Bisbee is the first person I decided to interview during this exploration. Although the way we met was unusual– through an anonymous commenting app called YikYak, he was very open about his experiences here at UNE. Collin is a senior this year, majoring in Marine Biology. The first question I asked was “How would you describe the Marine Biology major to someone who has never heard of it?” Collin’s answer was; “Essentially I’d say that the Marine Bio major is heavily dependent on your interest and effort. You’re gonna take out of it what you put in. It’s not necessarily a hard major, but it helps you find your niche in the aquatic environment. I came here just knowing I had an interest in aquatics, and quickly narrowed my interests to the life support and biology of specific species and how to keep them. That’s where I get a lot of crossover between majors.” This told me that there are a lot of different parts that go into the major. I began to wonder what different classes I could take that settled in with my specific interests. The next question I  asked was; “What type of person do you think is fit for Marine Biology?” Collin provided me with this answer; “Definitely someone who’s curious and wants to be hands-on, not just the major, but also the profession. You have to be in it for your passion and not for the money.” This rang a couple bells for me, I know that whatever I choose to do with my life MUST be hands-on. I can’t picture myself ever sitting behind a desk all day– I get antsy working the register at Petsmart for more than a few hours. I know I’d be happy actively doing research and being outdoors. I went on to ask Collin several more questions about the opportunities he’s had within the major, and what he likes to do in his free time. All of it was very interesting to me, and this motivated me to reach out to my next interviewee. 

I had the pleasure of meeting with Markus Frederich, a professor of Marine Sciences. He had a lot of valuable information to share with me, and answered each of my questions in ways that intrigued me and made me want to learn more about these programs. The first question I had for him was; “What kind of jobs might be available to someone with a degree in Marine Biology.” To which he promptly corrected me, letting me know that there technically is no Marine Biology major– there is the Marine Science major with a track in Marine Biology or Oceanography. He thought it was funny that “Most students within the major don’t even know the correct name of the major.” He told me that they designed the Marine Science Program so that when you run through all the courses and the requirements, you’re perfectly positioned to apply it to anything within marine sciences. It all depends on the classes you choose to take. The major prepares you for any job within the field, and in some cases, students choose jobs that have nothing to do with marine affairs because the major itself gives you enough science basis and knowledge to get jobs like working in covid labs. You aren’t locked into the “marine world”, so many other doors are opened to you. Some graduates do work in aquariums, some work in SeaWorld training sea lions, some work in fisheries, others work for local state agencies. All sorts of agencies hire people with marine biology backgrounds, because the field covers so much that has to do with science. The next question I had prepared was; “What type of work would we be doing within the classes.” He answered; “ Intro to marine science series, evolution, marine bio examples. Within the first semester, you get introduced to all sorts of marine life, it’s more of a basic type of biology introduction– Within the second semester, you’re getting into more of the cellular molecular world. How do the cells work, how DNA works, all within the context of marine life. There are Lecture and Lab courses. Some classes are lecture based, others are more seminar based where you are expected to do research on publications on your own and present it to the class. Some students do research within the class, and others do it on their own. A lot of students get to take the research vessels out. Sophomore year within the first week, we take the vessels out into the ocean and push the students overboard. [Pause for laughter]. We do snorkeling around UNE’s privately owned island. The travel courses have similar activities, students get to do all sorts of hands-on research, which include snorkeling and boating.” As you can imagine, my face was lit up like a Christmas tree. I was absolutely amazed with all of these opportunities within the major– this is nearly EXACTLY what I’d like to do with my time here at UNE.

My next question for Dr. Frederich was “What inspired you to teach within the Marine Biology field” He answered by telling me that his research had always been in marine biology, he had convinced UNE that he was fit to teach within the marine biology department. He thought it was fun to design courses– he ended up getting to a point where he could teach any lecture within the biology field without needing any preparation. Some of the challenges he faced were trying to keep kids interested in what they were learning. He designed the courses specifically to teach them to explore with little rules and an uncertain conclusion– but he said kids these days are too focused on the outcome rather than the journey. They want the step-by-step instructions and detailed rules to follow. They are so concerned with their grades and their GPA that they forget to have fun with the course, which Dr. Frederich says defeats the purpose of the labs he puts together. He told me; “Students love lectures, where they are told what they need to know, what will be on the exam.. and that’s it. Learning how to improve your skills is way more important than memorizing a bunch of big words.”  I really liked the way he answered this question. It saddens me that kids don’t take advantage of how fun these courses could be for them. I’m a very ‘Live In The Moment’ sort of person, so hopefully I won’t make the same mistakes they did. 

 I then asked Dr. Frederich; “How might this major shape someone’s life after college?” He told me that students often try to make a plan for their futures, they feel like they need a set path, but that’s not the way that life works. A lot of the things that happen to us are purely coincidences or just dumb luck– simply being in the right place at the right time and saying yes when the opportunity presents itself. He never planned on being a professor, telling me “it just happened”. He came to the U.S. from Germany 23 years ago and only planned on only staying for 2 or 3 years, obviously that’s not how it played out. Being open-minded and having the “Man, that’s something cool, let’s try that!” mentality is how you actively shape your future. Something that stuck with me was when he told me; “Hopping on a plane to a different country with a one way ticket is not something many people would do– most people would say hell no!.. But, why not?” It’s nice to have a plan for the near future, but it’s hard to conceptualize what our lives might look like years and years from now. 

My next question was; “How would you pitch this major to someone who’s never heard of it, or rather,  a parent who disapproves of their kid choosing this path.”  He answered; There are many ways of making a career somewhere. For all of those, it’s helpful if you’re good. I believe you can only really be good at something if you like what you’re doing. If you do things for strategic reasons, I don’t think you’ll be as good as others, therefore you will not make it as far. Life is too short to do things for strategic reasons. If you really want to do something in marine biology, then you’ll have the motivation to explore that area, and you’ll be good at it.”  He told me he met  a dolphin trainer, and told him that he has a ton of students who would love to be in his shoes. He asked; ‘How might they be able to get where you are?’ What the dolphin trainer told him was really simple– “Be the best, and there is a job for you.” With this logic, Dr. Frederich told me; “The only way to be the best, is to love what you are doing. If you’re doing something only because your parents want you to do it, you won’t be happy. Sooner or later, it’s time to live your own life.” This led me to my final question; “How adaptable is this degree in an uncertain future?” Shockingly, he told me that the actual major itself doesn’t really matter, stating; “The only person who really cares about what major you have, is you because you’re busting your butt to get it, and your parents because they want to brag about you.. When you look at job ads, what they will say under the requirements is that they want a bachelors in marine science, biology, chemistry, or ‘related field’. That means they don’t really care what degree you have. The next step is the skills required; they might have; ‘identifying marine organisms, use excel, communicate science, or whatever it is..’ This whole major thing is overrated. It’s an easy sell to prospective students. If you want to become a marine biologist, we have a marine science program. If you want to become a doctor, we have a med bio program.. In the end, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get a degree where you learn these basic scientific skills, which are transferable. Get a degree and do stuff that you care about! Learn cool things! Be good at it.. And then magic things will happen.” I learned that matters more than the classes you take is being proactive– doing things on your own time, volunteering at animal shelters, helping ocean cleanup groups, etc. When you’re applying for jobs, the classes you take matter, but what looks nicer is what you do outside of school. To which, Professor Tillburg who happened to pop in at that moment promptly agreed. 

Later that night I interviewed Alexis Weaver, a freshman this year at UNE. She is in the marine science program, but chose the Oceanography track. I figured she could give me more insight about the other parts of the Marine Science major, and she certainly did. I asked her similar questions to what I asked Collin, and although her answers were along the same lines as his, she told me; “Lab is the most difficult part of Marine Science because you have to learn how to use new methods and instruments to conduct research while collaborating with people you might not be familiar with.” Although this did seem like a challenge, I’m sure it’s one I can face head-on. I have no problem with collaborating with others, and I am excited about conducting research. One other question I had for Alexis was; “What kind of person do you think is fit for this major?” Her answer was; “Someone who is dedicated to the ocean and the environment and loves being outdoors.” This sounded a lot like me, and I ended the interview feeling very reassured. 

As I concluded my exploration, I realized that all my key interests were met. I wanted a hands-on major, and based on what I gathered from my interviews, that’s precisely what Marine Biology is about. I also wanted something that would open up new opportunities to me, and from what Dr. Frederich told me, there are plenty of directions either pathway could take me, as long as I am passionate about what I am doing. I plan on digging deeper into what Animal Behavior has to offer before I make the big decision, but I am very satisfied with what I learned from this exploration.