As I was nearing the last few months of my scholarship year. I continued to explore novel technologies for management. This took me to join former scholar Arzucan Askin in the Maldives. Arzu co-founded Miyaru, a collaborative shark research organization that focuses on studying the intersection of humans and sharks. I got to work alongside Arzu and the three other co-founders as we spent many hours above and under the water surveying tiger shark behaviour through a combination of drone and underwater footage. We worked with the local community, engaging in community discussions, presentations and citizen science. It was inspiring to see the intention with which all the projects were carried out, with opportunities for the community to be included in the learning throughout. Miyaru prioritizes capacity building and invites stakeholders to participate at all levels of science.

I spent nearly a month with Miyaru, then returned to the west coast of the US to work on my final projects for the end of the year. This gave me the opportunity to reflect on the life-changing year I had just had. I spent my mornings diving amongst the kelp and my afternoons pulling together the pieces into a film storyline and presentation and beginning to understand the significance of it all. I knew at the beginning of my year, that I wanted to learn about resource management, environmental solutions and storytelling. I hadn’t imagined exactly how it would play out but what I learned exceeded my wildest dreams. 

This year took me on a life-changing journey across the world, working with people at the forefront of conservation, resource management, storytelling, dive exploration and training. What I have learned in this year, has left me in awe of the incredible force and importance of our marine ecosystems at the core of the balance of life on our planet. I went into this year determined to find solutions and to learn from communities that prioritize a culture of sustainable interactions with our oceans and I found exactly that and more. 

The learning I experienced during this year came in all shapes and forms. There were the action-packed moments of adventure and often our scholarship blogs are saturated with the excitement of the experiences. But much of the learning comes in the in-between moments– the conversations with hosts, with instructors, the quiet, the reflection, the thought, the moments of loneliness and hardship or the moments of self discovery and introspection that happen within. For every moment of action, there is a moment of reflection. It is the balance of it all that creates the experience of the scholarship year, with its unique self-direction combined with the opportunity to explore the underwater world. 

I took these reflections and learning experiences and put them into my film and presentation. As I took this presentation to New York, the opportunity to share my experience with the Our World-Underwater Scholarship society at the end-of-year symposium really brought the whole year full circle. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity and was honored to be able to share it with the friends, family and the society who believed in me. Thank you to all those who contributed to this life-changing year.

A huge thank you to Rolex, Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society, Divers Alert Network, and my product sponsors Aqua Lung, Diving Unlimited International (DUI), Fourth Element, Halycon, Light and Motion, Shearwater, Nauticam, and Reef Photo and Video for making these opportunities possible.