SHELBY THOMAS
I grew up in Daytona Beach Florida and have always been fascinated with wildlife and the ocean. I feel passionate about preserving our natural ecosystems and creating a foundation for their appreciation. As a dive master, I love exploring any part of the ocean I can, I have had the opportunity to dive the Great Barrier Reef in which I first hand saw the destruction the reef has endured. This greatly saddened me and helped push me into a further driven carrier path. In the future I plan to work with various ecosystem restoration and conservation projects. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Marine Science and Microbiology at the University of Florida in 2017. Following with a masters in Interdisciplinary Ecology in 2018. Throughout my previous research I have gotten the opportunity to work with analyzing the health of the Florida Springs systems, analyzing oyster reef health and recovery in the Apalachicola Bay, aiding in conserving genetic properties within sea urchin populations, and scanning various marine sponge species for anticancer properties. Through my diverse experiences I have the opportunity expand my research scope throughout the field of ecology to hopefully make lasting positive change for our environments. I am pursing my PhD to help better prepare me to assist in managing, conserving, and restoring our ecosystems.
B.S. Marine Science & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
M.S Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Awards
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Florida Sea Grant, 2019 Aylesworth Scholarship