Making a Splash!
Starting the summer of 2017 WE have BEen POSTING MAHOGANYMERMAID MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN DIVING INTO their dreams
Throughout the year, MahoganyMermaids® wants to show off the brilliant minds that are sculpting our future. We will be posting involvement in summer research, courses, or other aquatic activities!
If you’d like to be featured submit a photo(s) to the email aliyah.griffith@mahoganymermaids.org
Look below to see what the future of tomorrow has been doing!
De'Marcus Robinson
July 2018 Congratulations to one of our mermaids, De'Marcus Robinson! De'Marcus has received graduate school funding to pursue his dreams of getting his PhD. As a recent Florida A&M University graduate from the School of Environment, he has been exposed to various research internships and aquatic opportunities. This fall, De'Marcus will be a 1st Year PhD Student in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of California Los Angeles.
Taelor Noel
July 2018
Congratulations to one of our mermaids, Taelor! She has been accepted into a NASA internship program. During her time at headquarters in Washington D.C, she has been able to aid in the development of the Science Mission Directorate, which oversees Space Launches, and ISS Missions. She has also had her fair share of the cold as she is analyzing the Arctic ice melt. This opportunity has opened so many doors for Taelor and has even granted her the opportunity to attend a space launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As you can see Taelor is making a huge splash in space exploration!
Isaiah Milton
September 2017
Congratulations to one of our mermaids, Isaiah! He participated in the REU Program at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. While at UMES, Isaiah worked with Dr. Salina Parveen, a professor in UMES’ Food and Technology department, andresearched the prevalence of two pathogenic species of the Vibrio bacteria, Vibrio parahaemolitycus and Vibrio vulnificus, within the Blue Crabs of the Maryland Coastal Bays (MCBs), as well as identifying the frequency of bacterial virulence gene markers for these same bacteria. He experienced sampling expeditions in the MCBs to collect the crab and seawater samples processed in the lab once a month. Alot of his time was spent in the lab processing the crab, hemolymph (crab “blood”), and seawater samples using Most Probable Number (MPN) methodology and plating colonies on agar plates. After plating he was taught how to use the Real Time (q) PCR machine to analyze the samples for prevalence and virulence gene markers. Looks like Isaiah learned a lot this summer and is one step to greatness!
Ashlyn Ford
August 2017
Congratulations to one of our mermaids, Ashlyn! This summer she took part in The Diverse Project, a 10-week research intensive educational program designed to increase participation of underrepresented minority students in marine and evolutionary biology. Through field work and laboratory training, students learn an integrative approach towards the study of the ecology and biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems. Fieldwork and laboratory research are complemented by mentoring on career development, ranging from successfully applying to graduate school to choosing a career. This program is supported by funding from the UC-HBCU initiative, and the National Science Foundation PIRE grants. She had an opportunity to continued her research on the relationship between human influences and parasite growth on coral. She collected samples from the coral, Porites spp., by coring and identifying the parasite infecting the coral by microscope. In order to evaluate changes in infected corals to the area, Ashlyn surveyed areas at the same sites that she had observed last year. Ashlyn also assisted in multiple group projects and mentored undergraduates. By researching and spreading her knowledge with other young minds, Ashlyn is thriving and is one step closer on becoming a real mermaid!
Kendall Chancellor
July 2017
Congratulations to one of our mermaids, Kendall Chancellor. Kendall is a senior marine and environmental science major at Hampton University, and already has a jump start on her career in marine science. She is currently researching the ecology of the invasive lionfish in North Florida. Kendall’s job is to test and analyze the mercury concentration in different sizes of lionfish to conclude that larger lionfish are safe for consumption. It also her job to test and analyze mercury concentration in other tissues of lionfish to gain a better understanding of how mercury is absorbed in these other tissues. Lastly she is exploring the possibility of lionfish to serve as a model for assessing the potential negative effects of mercury in valuable commercialized fish. As you can see Kendall is making extraordinary headway toward getting her PhD and being a real mermaid!
Ileana Fenwick
June 2017
Congratulations to one of our mermaids, Ileana Fenwick! This summer she received her Open Water certification in Virginia. She also was accepted into an REU or Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore for 10 weeks. She is currently working on assessing the health of Black Sea Bass using fat/oil content readings and BMI. She cares for live black sea bass in the lab, as well as analyzing euthanized fish for health index data. Throughout the course of the program, She has learned research methods, data analysis techniques and building connections in the field. She cant wait for what the future holds and stated how she hopes presenting research will "conclude at the end of the summer at conferences with the end goal of getting my work published."
She's on her way to do big things and is one step closer to becoming a real mermaid! Keep swimming and keep up the good work!