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By Melanie McCoy
I was one of two STEMSEAS alumni selected to participate in a UNOLS research expedition aboard the R/V Roger Revelle in the Arabian Sea this past June. As part of the Arabian Sea Transition Layer Departmental Research Initiative (ASTraL), and Enhancing Knowledge of the Arabian Sea Marine Environment through Science and Advanced Training (EKAMSAT) Program. The expedition focused on the interdisciplinary study of the air/sea interface interactions involved in the South Asian Monsoon.
I heard about the expedition opportunity through the network for STEMSEAS alumni. STEMSEAS (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Student Experiences Aboard Ships) is an NSF-funded program that aims to provide undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds with sea going marine research experiences.
My first marine research expedition was a STEMSEAS cruise aboard the R/V Sally Ride. The transit was from Seattle, Washington to San Diego California in August 2022. Our cohort consisted of 12 phenomenal undergraduate students in various stages of their academic journey and 5 mentors. At sea we learned how to conduct ourselves, and scientific operations, aboard a research vessel.
We learned about ship safety, how to be a good shipmate, an array of marine biological and marine geophysical concepts, and the vital role that effective science communication plays in our everyday lives. We heard about the career journeys of our mentors and many of the ship’s crew. Our cohort emerged from STEMSEAS with a wealth of new experience, knowledge, and support.
One of the strong suits of the STEMSEAS program is its foundation in flexibility and adaptability. While there was a planned curriculum for the expedition, the instructors utilized events of happenstance as learning opportunities and shifted lessons around in order to accommodate and support our interests. As we spotted dolphins off the bow, passed an ice-breaking ship, and watched bioluminescence bloom in the water at night, our instructors used those moments to teach and engage us with our surroundings.
When I first saw the details and opportunity for the ASTraL expedition (provided by a partnership with Office of Naval Research (ONR) it seemed too good to be true. I didn’t believe I would be selected to go. There are countless incredibly talented and qualified STEMSEAS students, of whom any would have made a wonderful addition to the expedition.
At the time of my application I was still a full time student at Whatcom Community College (WCC) in my home town of Bellingham Washington. It was my fourth year as a full time college student at WCC and I had one quarter left before finishing my associate degrees. My grades were solid and I worked as an academic tutor in the math center at my college. However, I wasn’t in graduate school and I didn’t have any college level degrees yet. I was simply me, Melanie McCoy, the WCC student who tutored peers in math and science.
Despite my anxieties and self doubts I had already made up my mind. After I submitted my application I decided that if I was selected I had to go. I knew it would be challenging. I’d have to leave early during my final quarter at WCC. I would miss my own college graduation ceremony that I had worked 4 years to reach. It would take a lot of work, stress, planning, and preparation but I knew that no matter what, the science would be worth it.
The process of getting to India was no easy feat and it was filled with new and intimidating things. I had never traveled alone internationally before. My mother has never left the US or Canada, and my mentor had not done a research expedition of this nature before. I was in new territory, far beyond myself it seemed and the feeling only grew with each new obstacle.
Prior to the expedition I had to apply for a research visa in India which was an elaborate and meticulous task. Even with guidance from the senior scientists of the expedition, I faced many difficulties. Because the research visa is physically added to your passport I had to send my passport to the US consulate of India in San Francisco. Waiting for it to arrive, process, and return safely to me was incredibly nerve wracking.
I had to book my domestic flights in India, arrange my hotels, assure I would have ground transportation when I arrived, and make sure all the dates and times matched up with the other scientists’ arrival. Of course I also had to prepare for the trip physically. Vaccines and medications were needed. I don’t live in a hotter climate so I needed clothing that would work not only in a ship environment but also in the extreme heat. I was constantly researching, trying my best to prepare for the journey ahead.
All of this and more took place during the final quarter of my time at Whatcom Community College. While gearing up for the expedition I was taking technical writing, statistical analysis, and engineering physics with calculus 3. In order to make it to the expedition I needed to leave over two weeks before the academic quarter ended which meant I had to complete all of my coursework and finals early.
Thankfully my instructors were incredibly understanding and worked with me to make this logistically possible. I wasn’t alone by any means; my family was incredibly supportive, ONR provided a ton of helpful information, and the science team for the expedition kept me up to date and on track with a lot of the preparations.
The science crew convened in Goa, India. After getting our port passes and going through immigration again we were finally allowed to board the vessel. When we got onto the ship all hands were on deck. While we were all one big science crew, our team consisted of several smaller collections of scientists from various different institutions working on different areas of study. When the time came it didn’t matter whose equipment was whose. We all assisted in the loading and unloading of all the equipment, instrumentation, supplies, and materials needed for all science crew operations.
Once everything was in its place and secured for transit we began to get to work. I was excited for all the science ahead but I was still anxious. I have dreamed of being a part of marine research since I was a child. That dream had motivated me all the way to where I stood on that ship. Coming face to face with such a monumental culmination of all I had ever dreamed of felt exhilarating and incredibly daunting. When faced with something that seemed so much larger than myself I felt, as many would, intimidated.
I didn’t fear being judged or looked down upon, though that is sometimes a potential concern in some academic environments. The science crew had done nothing but make me feel completely welcome. My intimidation was based solely in the fear that I would let myself down. As someone who had always aspired to make a meaningful contribution to the sciences, I was petrified that my presence would be in any way a hindrance to the expedition. I was worried I’d be in the way, make mistakes, not understand things fast enough, or that I would be left behind.
My fears were valid but they proved to be unfounded. What I had failed to consider was funnily enough one of my favorite parts of the sciences, the reality of field work. Research in the field is full of constant change, it is precise and systematic, but science in the real world is variable. The same was unsurprisingly true aboard the ASTraL expedition. Each vessel, scientific instrument, methodology, and scientist all have their own intricacies.
Even though the instrumentation was not new to the senior scientists, they still need to figure out how to adapt to their surroundings. Determining how to safely and reliably deploy and recover a particular instrument off a particular ship is a process. Everyone, senior scientists included, was learning. All of us were constantly discovering how to make it work, adapting, making mistakes, and striving to improve.
I found that the skills that I needed most to succeed and thrive in this environment were exactly the skills that STEMSEAS had provided to me. Research at sea is a world of unpredictability. It is an environment in which you must constantly adapt to the conditions presented to you. It is a steep learning curve, as you find how to work with the flow of the vessel instead of against it. The STEMSEAS program acknowledges how vital this piece of marine research is with its circumstance-centered learning approach.
STEMSEAS not only opened the door for me to participate in this life changing research expedition, it also prepared me for it. I was ready for this challenge, more ready than I gave myself credit for, and it is thanks to the STEMSEAS program and my amazing mentors. I hope to live a life full of countless marine research expeditions. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to flourish in this incredible learning environment while still in my undergrad years. Having access to field research opportunities as an undergraduate student in the geosciences is truly invaluable. I am already a stronger scientist thanks to programs and opportunities for undergraduates like this and I strive to continue learning and improving.
