Hi my name is Rylin, I’m a rising sophomore at The Ohio State University studying biology. I’m a first generation college student, so for me it can be difficult navigating university and all that I need to do to ensure success in the future. When and if I should apply to graduate school, how to get involved in undergraduate research, choosing a subfield that’s right for me. These are all questions my STEMSEAS mentors have been more than happy to help me answer. For that I’m extremely grateful. Today we discussed all thing graduate school. Now it was a bit difficult to pay attention due to my breakfast threatening to come up (rough seas) but what I did get out of it was truly invaluable. My mentors have been through graduate school or are still graduate students themselves so they can pull from their lived experiences to guide me and my peers. Now I feel much more confident moving forward in my education. But STEMSEAS isn’t all serious, we also played a round of Uno, pirates rules, in which I (of course) was the first to get Uno out.
When adapting to the sway of a ship, you can really feel the intense amount of focus surging through your body trying to keep you upright. I may get comfortable with the conditions of the waves for a few minutes and then the flow changes and I’m struggling to keep myself from crashing into anything or anyone. Day 2 was by far the worst, I don’t think that I ran into so many people and objects in one day. It’s almost embarrassing. I do need to remember that I am not alone when it comes to getting one’s sea legs, but I hope I get mine soon!
Just on my second day on the Endeavor I’ve already come across some pilot whales and some pods of dolphins, enjoying the sunset and looking up at the stars. Now we are getting ready to look at organisms underneath microscopes collected by our amazing marine technicians! Seeing the overall process in motion and getting hands-on experience when collecting plankton. Making our own slides and seeing the different organisms we were able to collect. From looking at plankton, larvae or even possibly seagrass or driftwood in a couple of other slides.
To observe the Research Vessel Endeavor tracker in the main lab and detailing all types of important information it has to offer. Like looking at the water speed, water depth and even seeing the currents and seeing their patterns over time is very cool to see. Also to see what position we are in the Gulf of Mexico loop current is very interesting to see throughout our days at sea. Then leading into talking about seamounts and the ocean floor is something I am very passionate about when talking more about the oceanography specifically in this region, learning all new things and the similarities and differences between the Atlantic ocean and Pacific Ocean( my local ocean). Checking out those pattern chains of submarine volcanoes and seeing the procession of data being collected about the ocean floor, seeing the rift valley’s and other amazing aspects about the Atlantic we explored. I just still can’t believe that this is only the second day and can’t wait for what will happen next throughout this trip.
After several days at sea, the Sally Ride docked once again in the port of San Diego – a warm, postcard-like city chock-full of breathtaking sunsets, diverse flora, and culture.
One of the activities we participated in was a tour of the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This tour was led by Dr. Cheryl Peach (the Director of Scripps Educational Alliances), our mentors, and our curiosity for the West Coast’s California current. I took some time during our excursion to reflect on the adventure whose conclusion was just one sunrise away.
At first, I was disappointed with the content of our expedition and the lessons that I was scheduled to learn. For some reason, my subconscious expected the familiar online lectures I had grown accustomed to in the past 2 years. But with a very limited access to internet in the swells of the Pacific, even short YouTube videos weren’t conceivable… let alone entire lectures. I expected textbooks, notes, strict schedules, and scrutinous examination. Essentially, I expected the average monotony that I feel so unintentionally comfortable with. But after a couple of days of lacking that genre of learning and feeling oddly dismayed, I recall one of the first memories I made on the trip.
I woke up from the first night on board. At this point, the boat was still docked in Seattle and was set to embark toward San Diego in the early morning. Before we embarked, I felt it necessary to say a prayer to the water supporting the ship. I prayed for a good experience for everyone on board and that we have safe travels down the coast. It felt awkward because the crew began their work as I was singing. Surely no one is watching me… I’m completely out of the way! I thought. But as I wrapped up and turned away from the brisk air of the Puget sound, I found someone observing me.
“Good morning,” I muttered with a hint of timidness.
“Good morning. What is it that you were doing?” he asked back. I was taken aback with the bluntness of his inquiry. The inquisitor was a stout man in a black, newsboy cap, a dark zip-up hoodie, and jeans. He seemed to enjoy a cup of a warm drink in the same cold air I was escaping. Anxious that I may have upset him, I let him know that I was saying a prayer to the water and that I had the captain’s permission–
“Haha! Don’t worry…I know exactly what you were doing,” he said with a smile. “I just wanted to make sure…I don’t see many people doing that on this ship!” The man went on to tell me about his Lakota background and a wave of warm affinity washed over me. He and I spoke for several minutes about a myriad of things, but one part of our conversation felt especially relevant a few days into the trip.
“You can’t feel it as much now, but when we get out there… everything is magnified. Spirit itself is magnified. Everything you do counts and matters… and at the same time you gotta know when to swim and when to float. She can tell you what I mean.” He told me as he pointed to the water on the side of the ship. He sipped his coffee and let his words sink in as the crew around us began to move lines and prepare to put the ship at sea.
Unclear as to what he meant, I asked him to clarify. He told me that at sea, you will be swayed and swung and that the more you fight the energy around you, the more challenging it gets. At some point you will have to learn to let yourself be humbled by what is going on around you. From motion-sickness all the way to deep emotion, fighting against such a strong force will only set you back.
His advice certainly helped with motion sickness, but it wasn’t until a few days later that I applied it to our cruise’s curriculum. As soon as I did, my outlook on the cruise pivoted from disappointment toward excitement and growth. Immediately, I felt more present and began learning more about the ocean around me, about the careers around me, and about the importance of marrying science with everyday life. I realized that the lack of Internet connection made way to learning by experience rather than textbook chapters. I championed my experience in probing the water column and all the small details necessary to do so. I cherished my experience in interpreting the data collected by the R/V Sally Ride’s many instruments as it came into the screens of the bridge and the lab. I was humbled by experiencing the teamwork necessary to stop an entire vessel and deploy scientific instruments into the sea.
I felt grateful when I realized that every job onboard ships like the R/V Sally Ride supports the textbooks that I left ashore. And as we were greeted by the barks of San Diego’s sea lions, I reminisced on the times during that week in which I lived in a textbook, and not just studied it.
During my reflection at Scripps Birch Aquarium, I saw sea anemone sway with the tank’s artificial current and I remembered the wisdom gifted to me. I smiled at the realization that those wise words changed my experience (for the better) entirely. By the end of the trip, I acquired experiences that undoubtedly encouraged professional development in communication and oceanography-related skills. These were the experiences that I originally expected and desired, but sitting at the Birch Aquarium, I realized there was one unexpected aspect of the cruise that I especially valued. I learned that our experiences resemble the sea in so many ways; they both ebb and flow, they both feel choppy at times or like calm swells, and they can both be unforeseeable at times. However, there is one lesson that I will always carry with me from now on: I learned that, sometimes, the best way to move through life is to accept its lessons and reckon with desires that fight against its flow.
I hope this lesson helps me continue to find similar joy in my life, just like it did at sea.
I gazed down at the rivers snaking through the massive wrinkly mountains of the Midwest from my small airplane window—”What on earth did I just sign up for?” kept ringing through my head. It was only a few weeks ago that I signed my acceptance letter for the August 2022 STEMSEAS trip aboard the R/V Sally Ride, and as exciting as that was, my mother passed after a long battle with cancer around the same time. Ever since, my wildlife camera and field guides had been lying idle collecting dust. I quickly lost interest in much of the natural world which had captivated me my whole life until that point as my whole world came crashing down.
Amidst that grief, the opportunity of a lifetime opened up for me: a one-week trip in the North Pacific Ocean aboard a Navy oceanic research vessel from Seattle, Washington, to San Diego, California, suddenly became a reality. Despite my lack of motivation from the immense grief I’d been carrying, part of me knew my mom would’ve wanted me to say yes. So I did.
View of Mt. Baker from the R/V Sally Ride on our first full day aboard the ship.
No less than a day after setting foot on the R/V Sally Ride did I know I had made the right decision. While we were setting up the lab, the Bridge called down to let us know there were whales spotted at the bow— and like any sane marine science enthusiasts, we all dropped everything and darted to the bow. That evening, we were heading out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and right at the mouth of the strait where it opened to the ocean, there was a spectacular showing of dozens of whale spouts, fins, and flukes to greet us. Some were so close that we could hear them surface before seeing them, as their massive lungs took in air, then we’d spot them as their fins and tails rolled slowly back into the sea. The evening quickly gave way to night, creating a sharp decline in temperature. Despite our fingers growing numb in the midst of heightening winds and the coolness of the night setting in, we remained on the bow until the sun was swallowed by the deep gray ocean, still full of twinkling eyes and laughter.
Several whales photographed from our first day at sea.
For the rest of the trip, I felt much of my grief buffered by heartening scenarios just like this. To me, this is what it’s all about—not just the incredible creatures we stumble upon that humble us, but meeting people from all walks of life, coming together to do some good and learn about this complex and beautiful world around us and each other despite the personal challenges we all face. I had good expectations for this STEMSEAS trip, but I got far more out of it than I had expected. Memories, experiences, and people that I will cherish forever, and that have inspired me to seriously pursue a career path that supports this work.
A cargo ship in a dramatic sunset from our first day at sea.
When I first found this program, I never imagined myself here. I couldn’t foresee the deeply impactful and inspiring events to come. At the time that I applied, I felt adrift. I had little to no confidence in myself or what I could give to science, I questioned if there was even space for people like me in STEM, and whatever space there was I was sure that I wasn’t worthy of it. Finding my niche has been a long and tangential journey. Growing up with ADHD, and being generally misunderstood by my instructors, meant that I was often made to feel less than; less intelligent, less worthy, less potential for success. But the moment that I stepped onto the R/V Sally Ride, this was all washed away with the waves. Little did I know that this moment was just the very beginning of something so wonderful it is almost beyond words…
The August 2022 STEMSEAS group on the gangway of the R/V Sally Ride, preparing to sail out of Seattle.
The following is a quote from a journal entry about my first day at sea, “Every second that I spend on the Sally Ride feels like the peak of my life until that moment ends and the next begins. And this is just the beginning.” I am pleased to say that this sentiment remained true throughout our voyage. Every day I was learning and experiencing something new and exciting. Finding my sea legs was a struggle at first and sleeping on the top bunk is a bit more complicated at sea. But conquering each thing was a triumphant milestone! Every first that I experienced felt like a new gift the waves had brought me.
I’m not even sure where to begin with the marine life! Going into this experience my expectations were low, if I kind of maybe saw a whale out in the distance, I was going to be happy. So to see a huge pod of whales swim right past us, on the first day, blew my expectations right out of the water. It didn’t stop there, from jellyfish to otters, seals to sea lions, dolphins to plankton, and even a tiny octopus larva, the marine life we saw was endless and beyond anything I could have previously imagined. It shouldn’t be a shock that my expectations for my next excursion are infinitely higher. By far the best sighting happened under the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen, with the milky way stretching over the infinite horizon, bioluminescence littered the water as if the sea and sky were one. I’ve never seen anything like it, it lit something inside me, a new curiosity to be explored. The night that we first saw it, Melanie and I collected plankton from the sea water hose in the lab to look through the following morning. That began a pattern of late nights spent looking down from the bow and long days spent looking down through a microscope. The following night we were blessed with an even greater gift, dolphins leapt and glided through the bioluminescent water, leaving trails of light behind them. It was almost like a dream, one that I never wanted to wake up from.
As I mentioned before, I have often questioned my journey through science, I have felt like my path was uncommon and abnormal. Everyone I knew had relatively straightforward paths, with few detours, obstacles, or dead ends. So, by far one of the more impactful aspects of this trip was to hear from the instructors and crew members about their own journeys full of unexpected destinations, detours, obstacles, etc. I even felt validated by the stories of my peers. To see that the people who inspire me, have been where I am now, some with similar doubts and worries, was the greatest relief. It was just what I needed to hear in order to refuel myself and continue down this path I’ve started. Similarly, hearing about what career paths are available to me helped me to broaden my ideas of what I could accomplish in my future career and how. Science communication in particular was of great interest to me, and it is something that I think everyone in STEM should have a proficient understanding of. Sara ElShafie’s way of using these concepts of storytelling to communicate science was world expanding for me. Not just for how I plan to communicate science to the general public, but for how I communicate to my friends and family, many of which have limited understanding of my field. Sara ElShafie’s work inspires me in many ways to be a better scientist and science communicator. I am certain I will use this knowledge, as well as everything that I have learned on this cruise, in my future career. Each instructor brought many things to the table, I learned such a wide array of concepts from each of them, and the ship made the best classroom.
In short terms, this week was life-changing. It reaffirmed my passion for science, it revived a childlike wonder for the curiosities of the world, it provided me with the opportunity to explore new interests, it connected me to so many amazing people; I learned about oceanic systems, marine life, how to communicate to a variety of audiences, and how to find myself when I’m feeling adrift. I am beyond grateful for each moment I spent on board and for each person that I had the privilege to spend them with.
Wow, where do I start… This past week and a half have been one of the most fun and enriching experiences I have ever had. Middle school Ahmad would be hopefully proud of his older self and be jumping for joy. I have loved the ocean and marine life for as long as I can remember. So, when I had the opportunity to go on a research vessel and sail along the Pacific Coast, my obvious answer was yes. We had pre-cruise zoom meetings, multiple documents explaining the trip, and watched numerous videos about the R/V Sally Ride. However, I still didn’t really know what to expect when I got on the ship. People can tell you what it’s like to live on a ship, however it doesn’t compare to being on a ship. The constant swaying of the boat, camaraderie between the crew, and the cool science instruments can only be truly experienced in person.
My first time feeling like a real scientist.
Throughout the trip I experienced a series of “firsts”, which is one of two themes that stuck with me after the trip. When you are put into a new situation and environment, you are most likely going to have first time experiences. Some of my firsts were my first-time seeing whales in the wild, first-time seeing bioluminescence, first-time seeing the Milky Way, first-time using a drill, first-time living on a boat for a week, and many more. These were some things I have always wanted to see and experience in person. It was so amazing to have all these firsts happen within a week. I saw things that some people will never see, and I am truly grateful to have the privilege to witness these amazing spectacles. This has encouraged me to seek discomfort more and strive to do new things as much as possible. I shouldn’t think that something is out of reach or not possible. When I do more out of the ordinary things, I can experience more firsts. I can’t have these magical moments if I stick to the status quo and stay in my safe bubble of familiarity.
I am looking out into the ocean from the winch (crane) control room.
The second theme that stuck with me is the overall theme of this STEMSEAS cruise, which is science communication. Before this cruise, I never truly paid attention to the way scientists communicate and never understood how integral it is while building a relationship with other scientists and the public. Scientists spend several years, sometimes decades, researching their topic of interest. They’ve gained an understanding of their research and can spit out facts for days about it. However, all that hard work goes to waste if they can’t effectively communicate their ideas to other people. Maybe they can communicate their thoughts to other scientists who are researching similar subjects, but that’s not very productive. The ideas are being shared among people who already understand your research and know why it’s important. The real challenge is communicating what you’re researching and why it’s important to an audience who is less knowledgeable about your research topic.
One of my instructors on the cruise and new friend, Dr. Sara ElShafie, is fortunately an expert on this very subject. Throughout the cruise, Dr. ElShafie taught us numerous ways to effectively communicate to different audiences. One of my favorite things I learned was that there is an entire spectrum of learning types. There are low context learners who focus on the details and the overall goal of what they’re learning. There are also high context learners who need hands-on learning and need to learn the process of how something works. There are also learners who need both and are in between. There is an entire spectrum of learners, which means there must be a multi-context approach to teaching new ideas to diverse audiences. Understanding this concept makes you a better communicator and overall, a better scientist. I believe this was an excellent aspect of science to learn and will allow me to better communicate science to the public.
Azrael, Brontë, and I using our new science communication skills while presenting our research project.
STEMSEAS gave me the opportunity to live out my wildest dreams and melt my little marine biologist heart. I was able to see beautiful megafauna and other types of marine life. I was able to use cool science instruments like a CTD, plankton tows, secchi disks, and even saw some Argo floats get launched. However, the most meaningful aspect of the trip was the people I met and the relationships I built. My network has expanded greatly and the opportunity for collaboration with my new peers is exciting. I can’t wait to see what waits for us in the future.
Our amazing group looking really cool under the A-frame.
It was a few days into the trip and I had barely talked to anyone back at home. The days are so fast and exciting that before you know it, you’re settling into bed again in preparation for the long day ahead. I was standing on the stern of the ship when I tried to call my mom. Thankfully she picked up!
I hadn’t realized how much I had missed talking to her until I heard her voice. I told her all about our trip thus far. About the dolphins we had seen, the huge pod of whales, the otter, and the albacore the crew caught. Most importantly I told her about our STEMSEAS group.
Everyone in our group is so amazing, so individually astounding. They each shine from within, their passion for marine science and their particular subjects evident in all that they do. Each person in the group made me feel so welcome and genuinely appreciated. I have never had the fortune of meeting so many like minded people before.
I have been prone to homesickness my entire life. Yet, standing there on the stern of the R/V Sally Ride looking out at the water, I felt like it was exactly where I was meant to be. I couldn’t help but cry, it’s an emotional thing to realize that your childhood dreams and hopes are still alive. Finally, having proof that chasing those dreams all this time had been the right choice. To know, without a doubt that I was the happiest I had ever been. I had never been more comforted than I was at that moment.
The R/V Sally Ride and the STEMSEAS group on board were exactly what I needed in my life. This voyage was just the beginning. The beautiful start to a life devoted to STEM that I’ve wanted since I can remember. I can never thank the crew of the R/V Sally Ride or the STEMSEAS group enough for this opportunity. You all made me happier than I thought possible, and I’ll never forget it.
The day began with cloudy skies, in conjunction with the impending storm forecast to approach from the north. Over a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and fresh fruit, Captain Cameron informed us that the storm actually dissipated somewhat along our ship track, and that the anticipated 10-foot swells were luckily no longer expected.
Another day of great breakfast from our cooks, featuring Keisha and her full plate!
Instead, the strong northerly winds provided a powerful tailwind boost, allowing the Captain to pull back on the throttle, thereby burning less gas, all the while maintaining the same speed.
I washed down the last of my breakfast with a delicious piña colada smoothie, and we headed off to the lab to listen to a presentation by one of our instructors, José Cuevas. The entire day revolved around the stories of the career paths of those around us, and José began by explaining the tough choices that shaped his educational background and the details regarding his work collecting ichthyoliths (fossilized fish parts) on the JOIDES Resolution, another research vessel in the UNOLS (University National Oceanographic Laboratory System) fleet. He expressed his trials and tribulations during his time in the American education system and normalized transitioning between careers as interests and opportunities change.
Jose pointing out the ARGO float network, a collection of underwater drones that take oceanic measurements.
Following a great lunch of fresh-caught tuna, pulled pork, and fried chicken sandwiches, we had a round-table discussion with the two ResTechs (Research Techs) onboard the Sally Ride—Ian and Josh. As ResTechs, their jobs revolve around maintaining and operating equipment involved in deploying and recovering scientific instruments used for research. They explained their fascinating career paths and the winding roads they took to arrive to their current occupations as ResTechs. Ian was born in Minnesota and got his start on the ocean after college when he took a job on a whim maintaining dive boats in Florida. Josh graduated with a degree in biology and a concentration in marine science and secured several marine/hydrological research internships before making his way on full-time ship expeditions.
Listening to Ian and Josh’s nonlinear career paths in the lab.
We took a quick ice cream break (which we do daily here on the Sally Ride!) and Kristen spotted some whales off the fantail in the distance on the horizon line. Large pieces of kelp floated by—fragments of the giant kelp forests that proliferate along the Santa Barbara Basin. A small silver fish jumped aboard the fantail, discovered by Azrael, upon which Melanie and Alexis brought in the specimen for later research.
Excited Melanie and Alexis holding their fish find!
We then sat down for talk by Dr. Sara ElShafie, another of our instructors, about her captivating career path. She began with an initial innate attraction to marine science, volunteering at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago through her early years, and later conducted several citizen science surveys of the California coasts. But her interests shifted as she volunteered to clean fossils for a professor, realizing her love for paleontology. I had never thought about the study in such vibrant terms, but in her words, paleontology requires a combination of science to understand what organisms one has found and the imagination to reconstruct ancient worlds in which these organisms roamed. To avoid the saturated focus on the study of dinosaurs, she dove into herpetology—the study of reptiles and amphibians. Sara gave us a crash course of her intriguing dissertation results regarding the effects of climate change on reptiles over time. She additionally discussed her Science Through Story initiative on science communication training—its origins, its partnerships, its associated events, and its short future ahead as she ends the self-employed chapter in her life and moves on to a full-time job with Weber Shandwick.
Us sitting in the lab fascinated by Sara’s research about ancient reptiles and climate.
After Sara’s lecture, we enjoyed a wonderful outdoor dinner of tender and juicy swordfish alongside spinach salad with green apples, feta cheese, red onions, and a honey lemon vinaigrette, and a scoop of fresh-steamed broccoli and carrots.
Dinner on the fantail with a great view of the sea.
Kristen and Melanie spotted some sea lions swimming comically on the starboard side of the boat sporadically popping their heads out of the rolling waves. We also unfortunately saw a deceased whale calf in the water. We paid our respects to it as it floated by.
A sad sight of the deceased whale calf.
We debriefed following dinner, reflecting on our STEMSEAS experience over the past 5 days. A highlight for many of us was catching just a glimpse of the myriad of careers—most that many of us were previously unaware of—that exist in the marine realm. The sighting of the lifeless calf reinforced a common theme that we had been enveloped in all day: our lives are so precious and fleeting that we have to ensure that we spend it doing what makes us happy, and unapologetically alter our life tracks if that entity fluctuates over time.
Lastly, we ended the night listening to Beyoncé while preparing our decorated Styrofoam cups for their journey on their descent with the CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) enclosure the following morning. As they plummet to depths of thousands of feet, the intense pressure at these deep levels of the ocean cause them to shrink and shrivel to nearly a quarter of their size. I am excited to see what my octopus will end up turning into!
My Styrofoam cup octopus!
STEMSEAS has been an incredible experience: I have been immersed in life at sea and have learned so much about marine science and science communication in such a short span of time, together with wonderful people. I am endlessly grateful for this opportunity as an augmentation to my Rutgers meteorology education!
Today we spent the morning learning more about the R/V Sally Ride by touring the bridge, the server room, and the science gear room. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the ship behind-the-scenes, and the crew have been super welcoming and helpful in their tours and descriptions of machinery and job roles.
Up on the bridge, Captain Cameron showed us the array of ship system controls, radar and charts, the steering system, and the dynamic positioning system. This ship uses a unique adjustable forward propeller that can hold the ship in a precise position for science operations such as CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) deployments and plankton net tows. In addition to the ship controls, Cameron also described his career path from a lifeguard all the way to ship captain.
Captain Cameron answers our questions about plotting course and steering the ship.
Next, we toured the server room, bathymetry, and data collection station with the IT specialist, Jeff. His station consists of an enormous array of 15 monitors that, among other things, show real-time fluorescence, the ship’s position, camera feeds, radar, and a bathymetry feed that visualizes the sea floor topography under the ship. The data are continuously collected by the ship, saved, and available for researchers to use in their projects.
IT specialist Jeff’s dizzying array of monitors for data collection.
Our last tour of the day was led by the Restech (Research Tech), Ian, who brought us to the science gear room, which holds a variety of tools related to the winch (for deploying science gear), extra CTD bottles and gear, one of many firefighting gear caches, oil spill response gear, and a collection of wooden plugs in case of an emergency hull breach. We finished out the morning by learning, practicing, and racing to tie knots such as the bowline.
Ship operations require crew members to perform multiple duties – such as standing watch on the bridge, firefighting, repairing and maintaining machinery and gear, and supporting the science team on board. Many thanks to the R/V Sally Ride crew!
STEMSEAS 