{"id":1265,"date":"2018-02-08T09:46:24","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T09:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2018-02-08T09:46:24","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T09:46:24","slug":"under-the-sea-my-year-as-the-european-rolex-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/under-the-sea-my-year-as-the-european-rolex-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Under the Sea: My year as the European Rolex Scholar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I am amazed at how life just seems to fit seamlessly into place. You have to take a step back on the odd occasion to see how every step has added to the goal that you may still not see.<\/p>\n

I was always fascinated with the sea from a young age. It captivated me, fuelled my curiosity, and enticed me to explore its depths and this caused me to pursue a degree in marine biology. To be totally honest, I didn\u2019t really know what I was going to do after I had completed my childhood dream of studying marine biology but my part-time job at the National Marine Aquarium<\/a> ignited a passion in communicating to visitors the incredible creatures of the sea. By my final year at university I became aware that, despite us still discovering novelties in science and marine biology, many people were unaware of some of the most crucial threats our oceans were facing.<\/p>\n

I found out about the MSc Science Communication<\/a> at UWE Bristol<\/a>, and knew that I needed to learn more about how to bridge the gap between contemporary science and peoples\u2019 perspectives of the seas around them. When I started the MSc I quickly found out about the complexities of communicating current research to the \u201cpublic\u201d and started to understand why it was so hard to initiate change.<\/p>\n

However, after six months in the MSc programme I needed to decide what I\u2019d do for my final project. I hadn\u2019t found a subject matter that resonated with me and I didn\u2019t want to carry out a project on something for the sake of completing my Masters. It meant more to me than that.<\/p>\n

Again, life gave me an answer. On a complete whim, I applied for a scuba diving scholarship, which happened to be one of the most prestigious awards that could be bestowed on a young person seeking to forge a path in the underwater world. The Our World Underwater Scholarship Society<\/a> offers three scholarships a year; one in North America, one in Australasia and one in Europe. I was lucky enough to be the 2017 European scholar<\/a>, sponsored by Rolex.<\/p>\n

At the time I wondered why I had been picked out of so many others. And now I truly believe it was because of my time spent on the MSc course, studying a programme which combined my love of marine science, with communication, social science and practical engagement skills. It gave me the chance to redirect myself and see where I wanted to be. The scholarship now presented me with time to put it in action, to be at that forefront of scientific discovery and learn from others who were taking theory to practice. And so, with the MSc course being so flexible to my needs, I put my final project on hold and began my year of adventure into the blue!<\/p>\n

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Ascending back to the boat from 6 hour dives in Micronesia. Photo credit : Prof. Andrew Baird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the last 12 months I\u2019ve learned new techniques in both diving<\/a> and underwater photography\u00a0<\/a>and have been privileged to travel to some of the most stunning marine landscapes on the planet. These have included exploring mesophotic reefs (the twilight zone) in Micronesia<\/a>, diving with bull sharks in Fiji, conducting repellent tests on Great White Sharks<\/a> in Australia\u00a0and clearing up ghost fishing nets from Wellington Harbour in New Zealand.\u00a0I also, for a short while, left behind my diving gear and joined a bike tour around New Zealand carrying out school outreach on plastic pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n