Programs Blog

Monday September 30, 2024  

Location: Sea Education Assocation campus, Woods Hole, MA 

Weather: 67˚F, partly cloudy 

Hi, my name is Jeremy Kaufman. I am currently a Junior at Pitzer College, part of the Claremont consortium, double majoring in environmental science and geology. I am originally from Bethesda, Maryland, just outside the District of Columbia. I decided to ditch the politicians and swampy humidity of D.C. for the Bright Lights and bustling city of Los Angeles. However, you can only deal with 70 degrees, sunshine, and clear skies for so long before you need something different. Thus, I embarked on my SEA adventure. Ultimately, the reason for leaving my home institution for a semester is deeper than Los Angeles weather. Pitzer and the other four colleges collectively offer one oceanography class every other semester and one marine science class once every two years. Marine sciences are not within the Claremont consortium’s language, and so I knew it was time to spread my wings and delve into what interests me most: the oceans.  

SEA has been great, with a couple of minor slights; nothing is ever perfect. First, let’s start with the positives, as I’m a glass-half-full individual. Without a doubt, my program, Coral Reef Conservation: Caribbean, would not be so lovely if not for my fellow classmates and friends. Both my roommates, Leandro and Keegan, are so kind, caring, and, most importantly, quiet in the mornings. Sara, while quite shy the first week, has blossomed into a chatty companion, who loves to giggle. Thank God for Claire, not only because I have someone to throw a frisbee with, but someone who is so comfortable in her skin is a needed addition to any household. Cayla, who is the most talented Artist I’ve ever seen, asks the most intelligent questions and, no joke, makes the rice and beans in the house. Last but certainly not least, Katie, who is the sweetest person, makes C house feel like a home. None of the last six weeks would be as amazing as they have if not for each of my housemates.  

While I do not get the pleasure of blogging about the Boston Aquarium or Mystic Seaport Museum, I do get to blog about our visit to Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL). We got the pleasure of seeing the MBL research aquarium, housing horseshoe carbs, plankton, squid, and the coolest fish I’ve ever seen, the sea robin.  Nealy, all species housed in their aquarium are used for research purposes, so the horseshoe crabs are within the MBL for studying their blood, as they are known to have incredible anti-bacterial properties. While I’m strictly opposed to the concept of aquariums, the MBL aquarium does make me less opposed, as the organisms are used for research purposes rather than the enjoyment of belittling adults and clueless children.  

After our aquarium visit, we had the privileged experience of helping conduct research alongside a coral reef scientist and a research assistant. They tasked us with pipetting 200 coral larvae from a seawater substrate into labeled vials. The coral larvae are microscopic, so for the first time in my scientific career, I pipetted under a microscope, something that takes getting used to. Leandro and I worked together, switching off pipetting every 10ish larva. The problem I ran into was that the coral larva looked similar to specs of dust under a microscope, so unfortunately, some larvae counted may, in fact, be dust; sorry, MBL. I’d like to thank the scientist who gave us the tour of the MBL facility, as well as the research assistant for helping distinguish the difference between dust and coral larva, sorry for messing up!  

The MBL facility got me thinking about a future career in coral reef science. Is this a career I could foresee myself doing? Honestly, I do not know. I want to experience life and committing to a career at 20 years old is far too scary to think about. I do think the field is extremely interesting, but sadly it’s dying because the ecosystem itself is dying. Coral reefs as we know them will not exist by the end of the century. Focusing on a career within a dying field is a scary prospect and, again, something I wish not to focus on during my time at SEA.  

Overall, my time here on the ‘onshore’ component of SEA is coming to an end, so I’d like to end my blog with a quick thank you to all my classmates, the other program, and our outstanding professors, Heather, Craig, and, of course, Rich. Each of them has made these last six weeks feel more than school. The things we learn aren’t to be regurgitated once a test rolls around; instead, we learn critical information such as anthropogenic factors causing coral death, how the plantation complex continues to cripple Caribbean nations, and the need for informative, accessible scientific information for all age groups and backgrounds. Indeed, the last six weeks would not have been as profound without each of you; from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Lastly, Rich, please grade my papers. I’m getting anxious over here!