Hello!

Hello everybody! My name is Melissa Betters. I'm a Junior at Florida State University majoring in Marine Biology and I'm so excited to be taking this course.

I'm 21 years old and I'm originally from Waukesha, Wisconsin. My love for the ocean is what brought me so far south, and I'm so excited for this course as most of these ecosystems and places I've never been to before. My ultimate goal is to go to graduate school after I complete my Bachelor's degree. I would like to conduct research in the deep sea eventually, particularly focusing on sea urchins. I've been doing research under biology faculty since I was a freshman, and I'm currently working on an Honors Thesis studying sea urchin reproductive dynamics. I have a strong passion for research, and one of my favorite parts about it is getting out there and getting my hands dirty. My goal for this course is to get more hands on experience conducting research in the field and to learn more about the amazing natural sites that Florida has to offer. I can't wait to meet all of you! See you soon!