Real name:
Biography:
Growing up on the UK coast gave me a passion for the local marine life on my doorstep. To follow my interests in marine ecology, I began higher education studying biology at the University of Sussex. This expanded my research interests and skills. Completing my undergraduate dissertation on white shark ecology refined my experience in data processing and statistical analysis. From modules I studied at the time my interest in animal behaviour and social cognition grew. To pursue these interests further, once I graduated from my bachelors degree, I continued onto an MRes course in animal behaviour. During this time, I was able to expand my academic writing skills preparing for my dissertation. The focus of my dissertation was investigating the exploratory behaviour of white sharks, to see if there were individual differences in how sharks interacted with objects in the water.
Since graduating from my postgraduate studies, I currently share my passion for animal behaviour and ecology through volunteering with two charities that operate in my area, MarineLife and the Brighton Dolphin Project. My work as a MarineLife surveyor includes collecting data on cetacean and seabird abundance, while my responsibilities with the BDP involve working closely with the community on the marine ecology in the local area, through guided boat tours. I also volunteer for a local charity that helps people with ASD in the local community as a mentor. My background in mentoring and teaching that I carried out during my studies also ties into my current research interests. For these roles I helped students with disabilities find their own particular strategies for successfully managing their studies. I aim to bring these personal experiences, both my own and others, into my research goals by investigating theory into the effectiveness of support provisions for disabled students.
At this time, I hope to continue my studies by pursuing a PhD within the fields of animal behaviour, cognition and neurology. From this experience, I aim to pursue a future career in academia.