KaterinaZ.

Mahdavi
PotentialResearchMarineBiologist

OBJECTIVE
ResearchMarineBiologistfortheDepartmentofCommerceinHonolulu,Hawaii

SUMMARY
Possessthekeycharacteristicsforthepositionsuchasproductive,organized,andamexperiencedina
widerangeofmarinesciencesandhavehadexperienceinindependentresearchprojectsregardingthe
positiontopic.Testedmyselfinmarinefocusedworkplacesandfeeldevotedtomyjobselection.

EXPERIENCE
Researcher,ShannonPointMarineCenter
Bellingham,Washington20232024

Researchprogramsinthemarinesciences.Supportedindependentresearch,andencouragesthe
explorationofmarinescience.

Accomplishments
Independentlyformedresearchprojects
Gainedproblemsolvingskills
Gainedhandsonexperience

Researcher,HawaiiInstituteofMarineBiology
Kaneohe,Hawaii20202021

Providedopportunitiesfortropicalmarineresearch.Offerednumerousresearchfacilitiesalongwith
convenientaccesstoadiverseextentofmarineenvironments.

Accomplishments
Coveredmultipledisciplinesoftropicalmarinescience
Gainedhandsonexperience
Observedmarinelifeinperson

Intern,OIMBMarineBiologyInternship
Charleston,Oregon20182019

Connectedacademicstudiestopracticalapplications.Offeredacademiccreditforamarine
biologybasedworkexperience.

Accomplishments
Gainedhandsonexperience
Developedprofessionalskills

Evaluatedcareeropportunities

EDUCATION
UniversityofHawaii
Honolulu,Hawaii20182022

UndergraduateDegreeBiology
GraduateDegreeMarineBiology

SKILLS

MarineBiodiversity
ScientificDataManagement
MarineBiology
BiodiversityandConservation
OrganizationDevelopment

REFERENCES
JanetHodderSeniorLecturer/AcademicCoordinatorattheOregonInstituteofMarineBiology,
jhodder@uoregon.edu
,(541)8882581

StephenC.JewettResearchProfessorattheInstituteofMarineScienceoftheUniversityofAlaska,
Fairbanks,
scjewett@alaska.edu

WhitlowAuResearcher,MMRP,
wau@hawaii.edu
,(808)2477426

ResearchMarineBiologist
Ihavealwaysbeenapersoncompletelyentrancedbythestudyofmarinebiology,even
asayoungchildwhodidntquiteunderstandthefulldefinitionoftheterm.Idonothavean
intriguingormeaningfulbackstoryformyloveoftheocean,soIsupposeIsimplyholdacliche
connectiontothemarineworld,assomemightsay.Myinterestinmarinebiologywentfroma
burningpassiontoanitchingcuriosityasIgrewolder.ThemoreinformationIreceivedfrom
teachers,family,ortheinternetthemoreIwantedtouncover.Inshort,Iholdalargeamountof

responsibilityforguidingmyselftowardsthechoicesImadebasedoffofmypersonalcuriosities,
butIwasalsoinfluencedbykeyeducatorsinmylifefurtherinformingmeonmarinebiology.
TheinformationIuncoveredthatIfoundtoappearthemostwasthesimplefactthat
educationplaysamajorrolethroughoutthiscareerchoice.Thefurtheryoupursueyour
education,thefurtheryouwillgetinyourpotentialprofession.Inrelationtomyoccupation
choice,ifyouwishtoresearchorstartaresearchprogramofyourownindependentlyinbiology,
youmusthavereceivedyourPh.D.Clearly,themoreadvancedofapositionyouseekinyour
field,themoreschoolingorexperienceisrequired.TheinformationIstumbleduponIfound
surprisingwasthefactthattheemploymentoutlookinthisfieldhappenstobehighly
competitive.Apparentlythenumberofmarinescientistsintheworldfarexceedsthecommon
demand.Iwasntawaretherewassuchalargeportionofpeoplewithinthisparticularcareer
choice.PerhapsInevernoticedtheoverflowingnumberbecausetherearemanydifferenttopics
withinthemarinesciencecommunity.Thejobtitlemarinebiologistisrarelyusedbecausethe
termreallyreferstothemanydisciplinesandjobsinthemarinesciences.Someofthesmaller
topicswithinthelargesubjectofmarinesciencesconsistofbiologicaltechnician,fishery
biologist,ichthyologist,marinemammalogist,microbiologist,andsystemsanalyst.
Iwasntabletocontactanyoneinthefield.Ididmakeafewphonecallsandemailsto
significantpeopleinchargeofmarineresearchprogramsandinstitutes,butneverheardback.
Theymustbetoobusywiththeirvibrantmarinesciencelives,ortheyneedabreakandrefrain
fromrespondingtohighschoolstudentswhotheymaynotevenencounteryearsfromnow.I
alsoemailedaBerkeleyprofessorregardingmycareerchoice,buthadafeelingthatwasalong
shot.Itwouldhavebeenveryinterestingtoheartheopinionsandadvicefromaprofessor,but
unfortunatelytheyarequitedifficulttocontactespeciallyforahighschoolproject.Intheireyesit

mayappeartoonlybeonesmallassignmentinourliveswhereasforthestudentsitwouldbe
onesmallemailofmotivation.
TheinformationIgatheredwhilecompletingthisassignmentfurtheredmyinterestand
curiosityofmarinebiology.IenteredthisprojectthinkingIwouldfindgeneralfactsIalready
knew,andquestionedwhetherornottherewereevenmoredetailsbelowthesurface.Reading
articleafterarticletriggeredmorequestionsofmyownleadingmetohoursofvigorous
searchingandscrolling.Ifeltlikeakidmesmerizedwiththemarineworldandallofitsunknown,
hiddenfactsyettobediscovered.Iammorethaneverinspiredtopursuemypassionformarine
sciencesafterdivingdeeperintothemanydetailsofthefield.Ispentafewhoursjustreading
aboutthenumerousprogramsandinternshipsthatareofferedthroughoutthecountry.Ihave
gainedastrongpassiontocontinuemyeducationinthedirectionofmarinebiologyinhopesI
willattendaschoolandresearchprogramthatallowsmetoputallofmyknowledgeand
motivationtothetest.