Fieldwork Reflection

Guest post by Emma Lewis ('25).

Leading up to our trip to the Gulf of Mexico, we talked a lot about preparing for long days, hot sun, tiring work, and seasickness, and I was nervous to be starting the summer off with what sounded like a less-than-relaxing experience. But when we left the dock in Louisiana the first morning, I was immediately excited just to be out at sea. It was a two hour ride out to the site, and I spent it on the boat deck looking out at the seemingly endless waves, feeling the pleasant (and sometimes hat-threatening) breeze in my face, and watching dolphins swimming in the wake of the boat. I was struck by the power of the ocean and found myself thinking about its vastness and contents. I also spent the ride doing what Paul recommends we do while the microscopes are loading; thinking about my future.

As a rising senior, my thesis and the graduate school application process are no longer problems for my distant future. I was feeling anxious about my decision to go to graduate school right after Colgate, and unsure that I had enough experience and information to make the big decision of choosing a graduate program and potentially devoting my future to research. But over the course of this field work, I became much more confident about what I want for my future, and I am very grateful for the experience.

I realized that I really loved doing fieldwork - watching the samples come up on the deck, getting covered in mud while sieving, and getting stoked with everyone when we found live clam samples or a cool organism that needed identification were joyful and purposeful experiences for me. I especially enjoyed how Paul and Rebecca, with their different backgrounds, had fascinating knowledge about the species we were finding, and they were learning from each other as well. It showed me how much opportunity there is in interdisciplinary science to spend a whole lifetime learning new things from different people, and I think that marine science is a great field to bring together all kinds of scientific disciplines in cool projects like the ones we are working on now.

After this experience, I am excited instead of nervous to be researching marine biology graduate school programs, and I can more clearly envision my future as a scientist. I have learned about marine invertebrates, how research works, graduate school expectations and opportunities, and formed lasting connections with my peers and professors.