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On October 15th, 2022, the October STEM SEAS crew boarded the R/V Hugh R. Sharp!
Out of the million times I checked my email, one fateful morning came where I received an email titled with the subject name “STEMSEAS finalist interviews!”. Reading the email, I was ecstatic, overfilled with joy that I may have a chance in going overseas for the field that I love.
Meeting the amazing Sharon Cooper ensured me that I would be in good hands in the program if I were to be accepted. Hearing about the STEMSEAS community on how welcoming and excited they were to help grow students in their studies made me realize how lucky I was to be considered a finalist. Later that week I received an email congratulating me with acceptance to the program and it truly was one of the happiest days of my life.
Seeing the vessel at first glance was truly mesmerizing. Seeing the bow, the equipment, our rooms, the many goodies in the kitchen, and so much more made the geologist in me have a fangirl moment. For reference, I have never been on a vessel nor a sailboat nor have seen the ocean, so it truly was an amazing experience to just see both, and it is truly better than what is shown on the television. The first day we had not left the dock yet, but we all fell asleep on board and prepared for an early morning breakfast. The next day we were all blessed with Chef Jeff’s cooking (and were blessed every single meal after that) and before leaving the dock we all went to purchase matching sweaters of the ship which I think was very cute!
Now on board, my crewmates and I were all sharing how excited we were to leave the dock and decided to go onto the bow to see off our arrival from land. There we hear a large horn signaling our departure from land which also scared us all but laughing it off after.
With having a couple of days, we immediately went into the lab to have a meeting with our chief scientists with a briefing of what the week will look like for us. Our work done that week will help answer how long microplastics have been within the studied body of water through a geologic and marine science perspective. Fast forwarding to our data and sample collection, we would first start off with taking a survey of the water using a CTD that measures the conductivity, temperature, and pressure of the water. Thereafter we would lower the flowmeter and then use the method of coring to retrieve samples of the sediment, all done in our bright orange life vests and safety hard hats.
We would do about two to three samples a day with each sample being at a different location and a different team switching off at each new location. During the time we would take samples we learned how to work the different equipment, recorded data, and learned how each will help answer questions in our research. For one of our first samples taken we learned that microplastics had been present for seven years which is devastating news but awesome that our equipment was able to determine this from our collected data and samples. Being able to see and help run the equipment was an unforgettable experience and helped us envision what working on a vessel as a scientist may look like and it was amazing to see what we learned in class to be right in front of our eyes. Our chief scientists were amazing and extremely knowledgeable and helped us answer our many curious questions that ranged from the work being done for this research to applying for graduate schools which I am truly grateful to have had them as our mentors!
Aside from our research we also did get to see amazing sea creatures such as dolphins, crabs, fishes, and so much more! Being able to see the sunrises, sunsets, the stars, and everything else in between was just the cherry on top. As we were all still in school, we would work on our coursework, but we would have little study sessions to make it fun. Speaking of my fellow crewmates, they are the most amazing souls and I am truly inspired by their own studies and hobbies and cannot wait to see all of their accomplishments in the future! On our last night aboard we all headed to the bow to stargaze and lying on the floor of the bow we all went around to say what we loved and did not love so much and believe me it was all love for the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, and we will all cherish this experience with each other and the research with us forever. A week on board may seem short but we all truly made unforgettable memories and experiences that we will all carry with us forever in our careers and our personal lives.
-Ashley Gonzales
