Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
For some, it's the love of sea turtles or other wild life that's brought them to the
Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs to enroll at the summer field program at USM.
It opened up not just sea turtles but all turtles, snakes, I've gotten really comfortable
with snakes. And I'm not even scared to let a small one bite me. The program exposes students
to unique coastal environments in an intensive field and lab based setting. There are 150
students enrolled in the summer field program this year. From 55 schools coast to coast,
across 25 states. Many of them have only studied preserved specimens in the past and never
imagined what this outdoor class experience would be like. I was really expecting a lot
less hands on and yet still he's packed a whole class into two weeks, which is pretty
impressive. We're located right here on Davis bayou which is adjacent to the Mississippi
sound and the Gulf of Mexico. So we really utilize our local coastal habitats for outdoor
learning in the classroom so it just creates a really unique experience of learning. During
the two week course, students witness marine animals in their natural habitat offering
a chance to experience science in an entirely new way. It's a game changer for a lot of
them, you know, it's just real world experience that this is what marine biologists do, and
I love it. And some of them, they literally change their life when they're here. You get
these group of students here in an immersing type of studying situation and in the field
experience, and they build friendships for a lifetime and future colleagues, so they're,
these are the people they're going to be working with in the future. And in many cases, beginning
the journey to future careers. From The University of Southern Mississippi, I'm Layla Essary.