DIVELOG JUNE 406

investigating how coral reef fish with high site dependance respond to environmental stressors (such as marine heat waves), using anemonefish as a model species.” What challenges did you encounter along the way? “Funding has been a major constraint. Studying and researching in a PhD position is really expensive, but I got lucky with my funding. In marine science volunteer projects, you're often required to pay for field positions, paying your travel costs, for food, accommodation, etc. As a result, also paying for your own academic career is not feasible (or preferable!), so I had to keep looking for avenues of funding. The people that I work with have been very supportive and so kind, working to develop our skills and knowledge set. In

they would. But if there is something that you feel totally committed to, then do not let anyone put you off. Only you can truly represent yourself, so if there is something that you want to be doing, keep going, and trust that you’ll find a way to make it happen.” You can find out more about the work we are doing here on these linkx: https://www.mndpng.org/ https://www.drtrueger.com/

the UK, the PhD is more of a student position, so my PhD supervisors are also mentors. My supervisor Dr Theresa Rueger took time to consider my career and helped to identify and facilitate a number of opportunities that I could explore. Another helpful aspect of my academic career mentoring was to help to identify skills that can be extrapolated from one situation to another, whether it’s statistics, academic writing or learning essential software programs. I am enjoying using these skills and I am keen to keep improving and gaining new competencies. “I have found that when you do find something you really feel is worthwhile, it’s important not to be discouraged by other people. If you feel like you’re on the right track, stick with it and keep pushing on. I’ve realised that if one project doesn't work out, it doesn't mean to say you have to give up working in this field. Take a moment to be sad about it and then reflect, re-strategise and see what other options are available. That's what I did. It took me a while to get to this position, but I filled my time with little bits and pieces of interesting work (paid or self-funded) which kept me going while giving me time to reflect on “Is this really what I want to do”? So if you get into a project and realize this it’s not how you expect it to be, that’s OK too. My approach allowed me to refine what I wanted to do and how I could go about it, so I kept pushing and here I am, in one of the most beautiful and diverse ecosystems in the world. What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in diving? “I think if there is anything that I'd be particularly keen for people to get inspired by it is that it's really worthwhile to stay curious. You can keep learning and you can change your mind or even change tracks until you find your passion. I’ve realised that flexibility is a really good trait to have. If working in diving is something that you really want to do, you have to hold on to your dream, and you have to be your own friend in that setting. Not all the opportunities you find will work out the way you thought

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DIVE LOG Australasia #406 - June ‘24