Kristen, U.R. - Introduction of a new Undergraduate Researcher

My name is Kristen Ghaffarian, I am turing 30 years old in April and am excited to start a new chapter in my 30's.  I am married and have a 4 year old daughter who loves the beach as much as I do; I have 2 dogs as well.  As far as I can remember I have always loved the ocean and everything in it.  I would go with my Oma (grandma) every year to the beach for the entire summer and would paddle out looking for creatures in the seaweed or anything I could observe.  I have always been very intrigued by the researchers that go out on missions following sharks and whales and recognizing them and learning about their ways.  I have been lucky enough to see whales on an excursion in Hawaii 2 years ago.  I also have a bucket list of being in a shark cage with great whites circling around, I would love to learn more about marine mammals to advocate for their safety.  I signed up for this lab because I took oceanography the fall semester and loved every class meeting, I was pretty bummed it was only one day a week, so I hope to soak up as much as I can in this lab as well.  I hope to learn anything I have not, especially more about the waterways and extreme diversity of the ecosystem here in Volusia County; which I was told is the most diverse in the world.