I am a first year master’s student in the Hughes Lab studying marine conservation and kelp forest ecology. I graduated with a degree in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz in 2021. During my time at Santa Cruz, I fell in love with diving and became an AAUS diver. From there, I participated in a marine ecology field quarter in Sitka, Alaska where I studied the predator avoidance behavior of pinto abalone under future ocean conditions. I then participated in an REU internship with the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network where I participated in intertidal monitoring surveys along the northern California coast. After graduating, I worked as a Dive Technician with PISCO, conducting MPA monitoring surveys along the central California coast. I then worked as a Research Assistant and Assistant Dive Safety Officer for the Vantuna Research Group at Occidental College. Now, as a masters student at Sonoma State, I will be studying the role of natural and restored bull kelp on fish communities in northern California.