Students throughout the country have had to change the way they learn, including Semester by the Sea undergraduates at the Marine Science Institute. This year’s 2020 cohort of 16 students were forced to halt their research and finish their lessons by the ‘virtual’ sea. Not to be discouraged, these students did a marvelous job taking the pandemic in stride and conducting high quality research projects. Each student in the program was paired with a UTMSI faculty or staff member to develop and conduct an independent research project. Student projects focused on a wide range of topics, including microbiological studies, fishery analyses, and many more topics, and each study was completed both at UTMSI and remotely. The semester culminated this month with a virtual symposium, hosted by students Izzy Willner and Zane Ortega. Throughout symposium students were judged on their presentation and the award for best presentation was given to JD Carlton. The symposium serves as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of these students in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic and their pursuit to increase the understanding of marine science.
