Something About Me

Hey!! My name is Natalie Royar! I am 21 years old and I am a senior at USFSP. I have always been interested in animals, but it was when I moved to Florida in high school that I wanted to study marine biology in college. Living so close to the beach and always driving by the ocean drew me in. Sea turtles for some reason really catch my interest. Although I do not have much field experience with my major, I am really excited to gain some experience through this course! This experience will also help my get some insight for what I want to do with my major after college. I am excited to be surrounded by people with the same interests and learn from them too! Ready to get started!

 

 

Marine Biologist In Training

Hey everybody! My name is Michael Baker and I am finishing up my sophomore year at FGCU. I was born in Maryland and got very interested in the ocean at a young age. I moved to Florida when I was 13, and the surrounding waters propelled my interests in marine biology. I am a marine science major and I'm still looking for inspiration as to what I really want to do. I love marine invertebrates like starfish and jellyfish.The beach is my favorite place to go to and I can never sit still so I'm always looking for new things in the water and around the shore.  I am looking forward to the FIO class because it is my first real life experience within the marine science field. I'm hoping that by surrounding myself with colleagues who share the same interests as me, I can start to fine tune my career path. This class will be an eye-opening experience and will hopefully lead me to victory as a marine biologist. Driving all the way around Florida is going to be exhausting, but well worth it. By the end of the trip, I hope to have my future career goal set in stone, and have created many amazing memories in the different colleges we visit! Feel free to help a fella out with any information, I love talking and learning where I can!

A little about me

My name is Jessica Valek. I am 22 years old and I am a senior at UWF. I just transferred here in August from MSU in Minnesota. In Minnesota I was majoring in zoology and I am now majoring in marine biology. I absolutely love living Florida. I enjoy going to the beach, diving, paddle boarding, and pretty much anything that has to do with the water.
I am really looking forward to the FIO class because I haven't been able to get a lot of experience in the marine field. I think this class will be great experience and help further my studies. I am really excited to go to new places in Florida as well and visit the other colleges. I am really fascinated by sharks and hope to be able to work with them and study them someday.

A Bit About Dr. Judkins

Hello!  I am one of the instructors for the course I am at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.  I am an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences focusing on all things marine invertebrates.  I have a particular fondness for the cephalopods, squid and octopods, where the bulk of my research is focused.  I am working with biogeography, diversity and genetic differences between deep sea species, between 200-1500m in the Gulf of Mexico.

We will be covering the Open Ocean week here at USFSP and I can't wait to meet the 2 groups of students working their way around the state, learning about field techniques and the great science that is being conducted in the unique habitats Florida has to offer.

Marine Filed Studies Course Gearing Up For This Summer!

Hello everyone!  This blog will be maintained by the students and instructors as part of the Marine Field Studies Course which is designed to lead students around the entire state, learning about estuaries, dune systems, marine microbiology, coral reef ecology, and the open ocean!  During this third year of the program, five institutions within the Florida Institute of Oceanography (www.fio.usf.edu) are involved with this course- the University of West Florida, University of North Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

The course begins May 13th and both students and instructors will be posting a short bio about themselves and their involvement in this exciting opportunity!  We can't wait to get started!