Good day! My name is Spencer Parr, and I am a Master’s student in Tyler Smith’s Lab. I was born and raised in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands but moved up to Washington state after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science with a Marine Emphasis from Western Washington University. At this University, I had the opportunity to study trace elements in snow algae, where I mastered how to use an ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer). I also was able to work with the University of Victoria, B.C. Canada by monitoring Bull kelp populations within the Puget Sound using ROVs. This undergraduate coursework and research experience have strengthened my understanding of the consequences of climate change and other anthropogenic effects on the marine biome and benthic communities.

Immediately following graduation, I moved back to the Virgin Islands to pursue reef ecology research in the Smith lab. Here I have found interest in bioeroding sponges and their impact on coral reef health and framework. I want to find out what environmental factors have contributed to a sudden increase in bioeroding sponge abundance here in the USVI in the last decade. While I am not in the field, my other loves consist of volleyball, free-diving, hiking, and sailing!

National Science Foundation Scholar

Hello! My name is Cole Sheeley, and I am a master’s student in the MMES program and a joint research assistant in the Smith and Glider lab. From a very early age I have been fascinated with the ocean and sea life. Following my passion, I graduated from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology. During my time at the University, I was fortunate to study under Dr. Koty Sharp in her coral lab. After graduation I was accepted at MOTE Marine Laboratory in the Florida Keys as an intern. At MOTE I worked under Dr. Jason Spadaro in the crab lab. I was introduced to the ecology field and studied the connections between grazers along the reef. My experiences at Mote inspired my interest to pursue a career in coral reef conservation and restoration. I am currently working on a project to analyze historical oceanographic data and the thermal variability of the USVI reefs using autonomous underwater gliders.

Hey! I’m Gillian and I’m originally from Hurley, MS. I grew up on the Gulf Coast and moved to Baton Rouge in 2020 to get a B.S. in Coastal & Environmental Sciences at Louisiana State University. During my time there I worked in the Seascape Ecology Lab under Drs. Dan Holstein and Ashley Rossin using Histopathology to look at reproduction and disease in corals. I was able to help on several projects associated with the Brandt Lab at UVI, NOAAs AOML, and MOTE Marine Lab. I was also given the opportunity to work on an independent project my last two years looking at the effects of stony coral tissue loss disease on the reproduction of Montastraea cavernosa and was able to present this at Ocean Sciences 2024. My four years of undergrad were full of cool research opportunities and I was recognized as a Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher my senior year.

I moved here to the U.S. Virgin Islands after graduating and plan to pursue research associated with coral reproduction and ecology as a research assistant in the Smith lab!

Hi! I’m Ally Swan a Master’s student in Tyler’s Lab. I’m originally from Clearwater, Florida, where I grew up just five minutes from the ocean. In 2023, I graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to delve into marine science research, by conducting a study on a species of sea whip. After graduation, I moved to the Florida Keys and interned at Mote Marine Lab’s coral reproduction lab, focusing on Acroporids affected by the 2023 bleaching event. I later interned with Coral Restoration Foundation in Key Largo, where I contributed to efforts to protect and restore the Florida Reef Tract. These experiences furthered my interest in coral reef conservation and restoration, ultimately leading me to the MMES program at UVI. Here, I plan to research species-specific responses to thermal stress across different depths as a research assistant for the Smith lab!

Hello! My name is Cheyenne Goodman, but I go by Lila. I graduated from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s in Biology with a concentration in Marine Biology. During this time, I worked as a Lab Technician at Margaret Mulholland's Phytoplankton Laboratory starting in August 2021. As a lab technician, I identified harmful algae bloom species, cyanobacteria, and phytoplankton prepared samples for analysis, and identified toxins. I also studied sea ice in Alaska for a semester. I was very active in my community, and my undergraduate experience shaped me into wanting to study corals in the Virgin Islands. My graduate research pertains to how damselfish effect coral growth and recovery from thermal stress. I am interested in the impact of climate change revolving around ecological influences on varying organisms. Tyler's lab allows me to have on-hands experience with various tropical corals and their identification. It is a new field from my previous undergraduate studies, but there is always something waiting to be learned!