I was born in October 1991.  My mom started her teaching career in Early Childhood Education so she could work and be home to take care of me and my older sister.  

When I started preschool in the 2s, my teacher noticed I was not learning language like my peers, and was difficult to get my attention when spoken to.  My parents took me to a doctor where they tested my hearing.  Due to fluid build up from multiple ear infections, I was completely deaf in my left ear and had 10% hearing in my right ear.  Without modern medicine and a simple procedure to input ear tubes, I would have lived a very different life.  Thankfully, I regained my hearing, but I was very behind in speech development.  

I was tested into Gifted Science my seventh and eighth grade year.  In eighth grade Earth Science, we had to read a class book.  That year was the memoir Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam which later became a motion picture.  Did you know if you rearrange the letters in the title it spells 'October Sky'?

I had seen the movie 'October Sky' with my parents a few times, and I was excited to read the book.  I was fascinated by Mr. Hickam's  memoir because his story was very similar to my dad's childhood.  His book opened the door for me to learn more about my dad and his inspiration to become an engineer.  

This book was a huge inspiration and has played a major role in my life. I loved how Homer changed his destiny of being a coal miner to teaching himself Calculus and winning a scholarship at a National Science Fair to later become a NASA engineer. He had the help of the town and his teacher Miss Riley to guide him along the way.

The day I saw a preview for the 'New Adventures of Flipper' on TV, my destiny was laid out before me.  I made the decision to grow up and be Dr. Pam Blondell, work with dolphins, and study Marine Biology.    

My entire life revolved around Flipper.  Barbie's gymnastics outfit was reimagined to be a scuba suit, and she alongside Baywatch Ken reenacted every Flipper episode.  

I discovered where the dolphin books were in the adult non-fiction section of the library .  I couldn't read, but I loved looking at all the pictures.  

I told everyone I was going to "grow up to be a Meteorologist that studied the ocean".  People would say, "You mean a Marine Biologist?"  My reply, "Yes, that one."

Graduating salutatorian was one of my proudest moments because of the journey it took to get there.  

After switching to a new school my Junior year, school no longer felt like a safe place.  I was bullied by my peers and was mentally, emotionally, and verbally abused by a few teachers.  We were punished  and humiliated if we did not perform with perfection.  I remember a teacher telling me I would always be second best.  This changed me significantly as a person.  

My parents recognized I was battling with depression, but was not aware of what was happening in school.  As a student, I did not realize the behavior of my teachers and their treatment towards me was wrong, so I never expressed to anyone what happened everyday at school.  I was pulled out of school for two weeks near the end of my senior year to get professional help.  In that time, I had to teach myself AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, and keep up with all my other classes because the tutor provided was not qualified to teach courses at that level.  I didn't have any help, but I kept my grades in check, passed my finals, and kept my second place ranking.  

On graduation day, I thanked my family, I spoke on perseverance, and I looked everyone in the eye to prove that I got myself to that milestone. I ended my speech with a quote from Walt Disney, "Keep moving forward".

My ninth grade biology teacher, Dr. Mike Petelle, was an avid tree lover and had his doctorate in biology.  He taught beyond the textbook, and I can vividly remember practicing my dissection skills on a cherry tomato, observing a crawfish scuttle across our desks, counting flour beetles and larvae, and the importance of protecting the environment.  

Dr. Petelle fought to keep the retention pond in the high school parking lot for years to help with drainage, but after he retired they paved over it to add more student parking.  It was sad to see the battle lost, but a special kind of knowledge was passed on to his students.  He taught us that it may seem like a solution to add more parking for a growing student body, but the big picture is how  taking away green space can harm the environment long-term.  Is convenience worth the sacrifice?
  
When I transferred to a new school, Dr. Petelle sent me this book in the mail for graduation.  This was a book he cherished, and he was proud that I was continuing to fulfill my dream to pursue a career in Marine Biology.

visual cues, concrete objects, and hands-on activities” (Stoddart 2017, pg. 9).

When my family went on vacation, we either went to the beach or the mountains and always visited a local museum.  I loved aquariums, and if there was an aquarium near our vacation spot, my parents would take me.

One day, my family was riding the bus to Hartsfield-Jackson airport, where my mom pointed out a lady's bag covered in patches from all over the world. My mom suggested I start collecting patches from all the aquariums and ocean institutes I visited. Pictured above is my second bag, because the first one was so loved that it fell apart.