My childhood started in Southern California living on 50ft sailboat with my family of 5 + the dog.

As the daughter of an ex-US coastguard officer, my brother and I went crab fishing, water-skied and swam underneath the docks instead of riding bikes or passing around a ball. So it’s no surprise that I’ve always felt more at home in, on, and around the ocean or that I was obsessed with documentary re-runs of the famous French Marine Conservationist Jacques Cousteau and Sir David Attenborough.

I dreamed of becoming a Marine Biologist, but life has a way of taking you in different directions, and after moving to New Zealand in my teens, I found that I also had a passion for communications. Many years, countries and professions later, I’m living in South East Queensland and still enjoy working in communications.

As a single parent working full-time, I never imagined I’d be able to afford to do further study, let alone find the time in an incredibly busy work and parenting schedule. But when the federal government subsidised certain university courses as part of their job-ready package in response to Covid, I jumped at the chance to follow a life-long passion and enrolled in a Graduate of Marine Science at USC.

I’ve received so much support from my supervisors and other students, and had incredible opportunities to visit world-renowned marine environments like Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef on course field trips. I won’t lie – finding the time for study and assessment (groan!) takes real commitment and time-management skills, but it’s so worth the sacrifices.

In fact, I’ve loved it so much, I’m going on to do further studies at USC and continue to build my skills and knowledge in Marine Science. Then, when the time is right, I will do my part to help bring positive change to the endangered marine environments which are essential to our lives and the health of the planet.

Despite feeling that I’d missed the boat (literally), I’m finally fulfilling my dream!