Hey, good to meet you! My name is Deena Brabant and I am beyond excited to be participating in this research with OPOR. As a student of fisheries and wildlife science, it is my dream to work towards long-term ecological solutions that benefit both people and wildlife. The skills I am working towards are those that will enable me to obtain and analyze data in order to implement conservation programs in biologically diverse and sensitive ecosystems whose futures are interwoven with their local human communities. Where human success is synonymous with ecological success, I will know my goals have been achieved!

I also really like painting, biking, adventures, and snacks. Cheers!

I grew up among the redwoods of the northern San Francisco Bay, and moved to Santa Cruz in 2012 to study marine ecology in Cabrillo College classrooms and in Monterey Bay‘s sublime kelp forests. Here, my love for visual art and music ripened and cultivated strong community. Profoundly inspired by my peers and college experience, I plan to transfer to UC Santa Cruz next year to develop my skills in community empowerment through sustainable practices to help preserve nature’s processes that work like miracles all around us.

I’m Karina and I am a marine biology student at Cabrillo College and a volunteer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I am extremely excited to get the chance to get some hands on research experience and learn more about conservation as well as be immersed in a beautiful new culture and meet you all and work alongside you guys!

My name is Fuller and I‘m really looking forward to being a member of the Ulithi Youth Program this summer. I really enjoy being in the water whether its surfing, Scuba , or free diving. I am an undergraduate marine science major and statistics minor at California State University Monterey Bay. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with like-minded individuals with the intentions of understanding ecological, and anthropogenic changes in this remote part of the world. It is essential to understand how to work with traditional communities, and provide information that will allow the community to make beneficial decisions for their home islands. I’m really looking forward to collaborating and learning with members of the Youth Program and the community. Through my personal experiences travel has been the most effective form education. There are various aspects of this program that I am extremely eager to participate in, but my personal focus on this trip will be marine debris. I will be providing as much information to the community as possible during our time, and conducting marine debris accumulation surveys to extrapolate information about the source, types, locations of geographic hotspots for marine debris around Falalop and potentially Mogmog.

My name is Emily Barney, and I just finished up my time at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. I will be transferring in the fall to Santa Clara University and will also be moving to the big city - San Francisco! However, before all the changes to come, I am beyond excited about the chance to go to Ulithi with this incredible, and diverse team of scientists and students. I have fallen in love with Ecology and conservation after having taken Nicole Crane’s class, and this experience will only solidify my interest in the field (hopefully). Not to mention having the opportunity to experience such a different culture than my own, and help improve the lives of all these wonderful people. The countdown is on!! And I cannot wait to meet everyone, and make some memories that will be sure to last a lifetime!

Hi there! I‘m an artist, nerd, and octopus enthusiast from San Ramon, California in the Bay Area. I’ve had a fascination with the ocean from a young age and I‘m excited by the opportunity to learn about and help study the marine environment in Micronesia. I’m also honored to get to participate in a multicultural conservation effort like this and can’t wait to get started!