Tafadhali
07-05-06, - 11:38 AM
Young Bahamian Sees Future In Studying Country’s Marine Environment
By Quincy Parker
Nikita Shiel-Rolle is 19, and almost positive that she will not make much money at home pursuing her chosen profession. She will have a college degree, years of experience and an iron will, but still, she is convinced she won’t be rich. (http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=9383)
This is because Nikita is planning to be a marine biologist: a Bahamian marine biologist, who plans to practice her science in the oceans and environment of The Bahamas, about which she is passionate.
In an interview with the Journal, Nikita explained why she thought marine biology seems so odd a career choice for Bahamians.
"Personally, I think many Bahamians don’t pursue marine biology because The Bahamas, as ironic as it sounds, does not offer many jobs in that field. People who are interested recognize that," she said.
"And then there is the natural fear of spending four to six years if not more studying something and then returning home to no job."
And then there are the dreams.
Nikita has big dreams, and big ambition, too.
"I would like to be at the forefront of education and conservation in regards to the marine environment. I want Bahamians to understand the importance of our environment and the dramatic role that it plays in their daily lives," she said.
"Eventually, I would like to develop my own magazine that builds awareness of our oceans, similar to National Geographic but primarily marine based…I intend to open a school that will have three main pillars: academic education, the marine environment and moral education."
Nikita believes that "it is the children in The Bahamas who are going to create the difference," and she hopes that her school will help the children develop "a natural appreciation (for the environment) and (those children) will want to protect and conserve our environment…because they want to."
The Canadian-born daughter of a South Andros father and an Irish mother, Nikita told the Journal that her interest in marine biology stems – as far as she can tell – from the presence of a marine biologist in a film shot in Freeport about a dog communicating with a dolphin.
Hmmm.
Some years later, after overcoming a severe fear of diving, Nikita began working at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas on breaks from boarding school in Canada; she remembers feeling that she was at home in the water.
After graduating from the Nancy Campbell Collegiate Institute in 2005, she snagged a job as an underwater photographer at Stuart Cove’s – a gig she called "one of my dreams" – and it was through photographing coral reefs and other undersea wonders that Nikita "really got to appreciate what we have in The Bahamas."
"This heightened my awareness of how important it is that we as Bahamians conserve what we have. From then my mind was set that marine biology was what I wanted to do," she said.
To that end, Nikita starts an undergraduate degree programme in marine biology at the University of Miami this fall.
In the meantime, she’s interning at the PIMS Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island in Exuma.
The center recently lost about 70% of its funding – it is largely financed by the US government through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The US government eliminated the center’s funding in its 2006 budget, and unless that money is reinstated in the 2007 budget, the center would likely have to close up shop.
The center also plays a significant role in The Bahamas maritime and agricultural affairs, supplying scientific research that informs decisions regarding maintenance and preservation of The Bahamas fisheries stocks among other things.
As it is, the usual activity on the island has been scaled back dramatically, and Nikita is the only intern there just now.
Being on the island has been interesting, she revealed.
"I just recently met a marine forensic biologist. This field of study was completely new to me. He is involved in poaching enforcement through DNA testing (and) identification of marine organisms, and he performs marine necropsies (autopsies of marine organisms)," she enthused.
"This new information was mind-boggling to me, and I hope to be working along with (the biologist) in the future as a marine forensic photographer."
Nikita has even managed to get a jump-start on her college thesis.
"I see and recognize (the fear of not finding a job at home) and I am positive that I won’t make much money at all," Nikita told the Journal. "But I have a passion for our oceans and the environment, and sooner or later someone will have to take that stand, so why not be that person?"
She added, "I recognize that it’s going to be hard (but) I have confidence that The Bahamas will only progress over the years with our environmental conservation and that I will be a part of that."
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j152/taffy08/Nikita.jpg
By Quincy Parker
Nikita Shiel-Rolle is 19, and almost positive that she will not make much money at home pursuing her chosen profession. She will have a college degree, years of experience and an iron will, but still, she is convinced she won’t be rich. (http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=9383)
This is because Nikita is planning to be a marine biologist: a Bahamian marine biologist, who plans to practice her science in the oceans and environment of The Bahamas, about which she is passionate.
In an interview with the Journal, Nikita explained why she thought marine biology seems so odd a career choice for Bahamians.
"Personally, I think many Bahamians don’t pursue marine biology because The Bahamas, as ironic as it sounds, does not offer many jobs in that field. People who are interested recognize that," she said.
"And then there is the natural fear of spending four to six years if not more studying something and then returning home to no job."
And then there are the dreams.
Nikita has big dreams, and big ambition, too.
"I would like to be at the forefront of education and conservation in regards to the marine environment. I want Bahamians to understand the importance of our environment and the dramatic role that it plays in their daily lives," she said.
"Eventually, I would like to develop my own magazine that builds awareness of our oceans, similar to National Geographic but primarily marine based…I intend to open a school that will have three main pillars: academic education, the marine environment and moral education."
Nikita believes that "it is the children in The Bahamas who are going to create the difference," and she hopes that her school will help the children develop "a natural appreciation (for the environment) and (those children) will want to protect and conserve our environment…because they want to."
The Canadian-born daughter of a South Andros father and an Irish mother, Nikita told the Journal that her interest in marine biology stems – as far as she can tell – from the presence of a marine biologist in a film shot in Freeport about a dog communicating with a dolphin.
Hmmm.
Some years later, after overcoming a severe fear of diving, Nikita began working at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas on breaks from boarding school in Canada; she remembers feeling that she was at home in the water.
After graduating from the Nancy Campbell Collegiate Institute in 2005, she snagged a job as an underwater photographer at Stuart Cove’s – a gig she called "one of my dreams" – and it was through photographing coral reefs and other undersea wonders that Nikita "really got to appreciate what we have in The Bahamas."
"This heightened my awareness of how important it is that we as Bahamians conserve what we have. From then my mind was set that marine biology was what I wanted to do," she said.
To that end, Nikita starts an undergraduate degree programme in marine biology at the University of Miami this fall.
In the meantime, she’s interning at the PIMS Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island in Exuma.
The center recently lost about 70% of its funding – it is largely financed by the US government through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The US government eliminated the center’s funding in its 2006 budget, and unless that money is reinstated in the 2007 budget, the center would likely have to close up shop.
The center also plays a significant role in The Bahamas maritime and agricultural affairs, supplying scientific research that informs decisions regarding maintenance and preservation of The Bahamas fisheries stocks among other things.
As it is, the usual activity on the island has been scaled back dramatically, and Nikita is the only intern there just now.
Being on the island has been interesting, she revealed.
"I just recently met a marine forensic biologist. This field of study was completely new to me. He is involved in poaching enforcement through DNA testing (and) identification of marine organisms, and he performs marine necropsies (autopsies of marine organisms)," she enthused.
"This new information was mind-boggling to me, and I hope to be working along with (the biologist) in the future as a marine forensic photographer."
Nikita has even managed to get a jump-start on her college thesis.
"I see and recognize (the fear of not finding a job at home) and I am positive that I won’t make much money at all," Nikita told the Journal. "But I have a passion for our oceans and the environment, and sooner or later someone will have to take that stand, so why not be that person?"
She added, "I recognize that it’s going to be hard (but) I have confidence that The Bahamas will only progress over the years with our environmental conservation and that I will be a part of that."
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j152/taffy08/Nikita.jpg