I am deeply passionate about marine conservation and restoration initiatives and have had a love of diving since I was first introduced to it when I traveled to Zanzibar Tanzania as a teenager. So naturally I was drawn to studying kelp forests and working to restore these crucial habitats in a changing world. The Hughes lab has been a great fit and it is great to involved in such meaningful work. Prior to beginning my master’s in the Hughes lab I graduated from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island with a double degree. I received a B.S. in Marine Biology and a B.S. in Environmental Science graduating with honors in May 2022. Growing up in New York and only ever living on the East Coast means the West Coast marine habitats are completely new to me and I’m very excited to be exploring and working to conserve these unique habitats. My masters thesis will focus on bull kelp resilience, examining how changing temperatures and salinities, in relation the freshwater inflows, affect their cellular structure and integrity. I’m very excited to further develop these ideas, begin my research, and join such a collaborative effort furthering kelp restoration initiatives.