Project Page
2023-2024 FULBRIGHT IN FIJI: Sea grass meadows deserve more love and attention
During the year of 2023-2024 I was awarded the Fulbirght research grant to conduct a study on the carbon sequestration ability of seagrass in Fiji. I embarked on my most ambitious project and faced both physical and emotional challenges that have made me all the stronger as an academic and working professional. Fiji's rich culture and deep roots with the land leave me full of happiness and inspiration for what community support looks like. VInaka vaka levu (Thank you very much) to all those who I collaborated with and stayed up late into the night drinking Kava. These pictures below are just a fraction of my 10-month time in Fiji.
MARCH 2023 Bioko Expedition: My return back home
Working Under Icthyoligst Cecile Gama and Mark Sebaj I returned to Bioko to carry out a 2-week expedition sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences for its first fish sampling expedition in Equatorial Guinea. We sampled streams on Bioko Island and Mainland Equatorial Guinea to gather a sense of the species richness currently present in the country.
2021 Summer Project Creating TiDAL Mesocosm: HOUSED IN BARTRAMS GARDEN
Working under Dr. Elizabeth Watson and PhD student Lena Champlin from Drexel University we created a tidal mesocosm used to grow saltmarsh plants to test how sea level rise effects plant development.
Young VOices OF Science 2021 AlumNI
In the spring of 2021 I participated in science communication program with a cohort of 22 students. Seven worships were held by experets in public engagement with science, creative writing, storytelling, and science-to-policy outreach. For my final project I created a visual story about my relationship with nature growing up in Philadelphia titled, "What nature meant to this city boy".
“I didn’t always feel safe playing out front, so the backyard became my escape. I was tired of cupping my ears from the sirens, tired of having my stuff stolen, and especially tired of deciphering whether a loud bang was friendly fireworks or a signal for me to run and hide back inside. In my backyard I found sanctuary and unknowingly my love of nature. With barely any green space I would purposefully delay cutting the grass to maximize the homes little critters could occupy. Feeling pure curiosity I would comb through catchweed to flip over ever last brick. I would see worms, isopods, earwigs, and many other things but there was something I specifically wanted to find. Until at last hiding under the outdoor AC unit sat a tiny Dekay’s brown snake. The kids out front could probably hear me scream from the back as I did my celebration dance. But my time was up, with the sunsetting my mom would now call for me to come back inside to eat dinner. So I would watch him slither away and await the next day. Remembering those moments I believe that as I played in the grass parts of latched on to nature and intertwined it with the feelings of safety.”
MIT 2020 MISSION BILLION CHALLENGE: WURI WEST AFRICA PRIZE
This project aimed to tackle global poverty and address the disparities participants of the informal sector face. Our international team developed "Nowd" a platform that serves as space to provide visibility to existing social protection programs, and other entrepenuaers.
Here is our website: Nowd.Org
Biological Illustration of the Isopod Species Hemilepistus Reaumuri.
This project was performed under the Sean O'Donnell Lab, and was guided by Ph.D Student Karmi Oxman. Its purpose was to gain insight on the brain structure of the Hemilepistus reaumuri while also incorporating biological illustration.
Study Abroad in Equatorial Guinea
In the winter of 2019 I studied in Bioko, Equatorial Guinea and took part in multiple field studies monitoring population of nesting sea turtles, birds, butterflys, and primates. We also learned held community events with local schools to educate them on the importance of biodiverstiy.
Students Tackling Advance Research Scholar (STAR)
While working in the Katy Gonder Lab, Ph.d student Dana Venditti supervised the creation of a model that displays areas of predicted high hunting pressure on chimpanzees in Cameroon.
