Kaitlin Lampson
Sophomore
Softball
Can you give a brief description of the course you took?
The course was called OEB11: Introduction to Tropical Biodiversity. The course took place during the first three weeks of January 2020 in Eastern Australia. We spent a week on a small island research station off the coast of Gladstone, Queensland, where we learned about coral reef ecology, tropical organisms, and how climate change is affecting our world's oceans. We snorkeled at least twice a day, and got to see hundreds of tropical species in their natural habitats, such as sharks, rays, turtles, sea cucumbers, and of course corals. The following week we traveled to the University of Sydney biological research station in Warrah, New South Wales. Here we covered larger topics such as endemic mammals, invertebrate phylogeny, and Australian geobiology.
How did you find out about the opportunity? Was there a selection process you had to go through?
The class was offered only to sophomore Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) and Integrative Biology (IB) concentrators, and was therefore announced in the sophomore-level introductory OEB class, OEB10. There was a casual selection process that consisted of an email stating our interest and why the class would be beneficial to us. The professors selected 10 applicants based off of just a paragraph-long email; I obviously got extremely lucky!
How does this class tie in with your coursework at Harvard? Does it relate to something you'd like to do following college?
This class is designed to give OEB concentrators their first exposure to field-work, i.e. research in the field. The material we studied integrates really well with all of the OEB courses I have taken and will continue to take, as all biological field research relies on some of the principles and foundations we studied in OEB11. I am not certain whether or not I'll pursue a field research position after college, but it was definitely an incredible experience. The hands-on style of learning is super rewarding; I will certainly never forget some of the things I learned in OEB11.
What was one of your favorite experiences?
My single favorite experience during the course was one of the deep dives we did on an early morning off of One Tree Island. A little bit of background— sharks are my favorite animal… That morning we jumped into the water and were greeted by a small herd of reef sharks, specifically grey reef and white-tipped reef sharks. The group that had an earlier dive that morning reported seeing many sharks in the water, so I had been mentally preparing myself for the feeling of swimming with a shark in real-life, but nothing could have prepared me; It was a very visceral feeling— not of fear, but of cautious fascination, humility, and respect. It was incredible. In fact, I couldn't hold back a joyous laugh and I accidentally scared a nearby shark away.
What was it like working with your Australian counterparts?
Having Aussie classmates absolutely made the trip. They were all incredibly friendly, engaged, and energized. I learned so much about Australian culture from all of them, and they learned a lot about US culture from all of us.
Did the devastating fires impact your course content, field work or research at all? Did you talk about causes/solutions/recovery efforts?
We got pretty lucky in regards to the fires considering they didn't affect any of our travel or research. The most contact we had with the fires was a smoky day in Sydney where we were warned to stay inside and avoid the polluted air. We definitely incorporated the fires into many of our lectures; we learned about why they are essential to some Australian biota, and also how they can best be maintained and controlled in the future.
What's something you took away from the overall experience that you've carried over now that you're back in the U.S.?
Upon reflection, I feel so grateful to have had the chance to travel internationally with my college. Australia is a beautiful place with so much to offer to biology students, or anyone with a love of the natural world. I definitely want to go back to the land down under as soon as possible. As far as things I've carried over from the course back to my life in the U.S., I have a much greater appreciation for ocean science and marine biology. I would love to pursue these fields further as a grad student one day.
Do you have any similar programs or courses you're aiming to take in the future?
I would love to focus on marine biology and ocean sciences as a graduate student one day. While I'm at Harvard, I'm looking forward to taking more amazing OEB courses; the department is absolutely full of phenomenal classes and professors, so I'm very excited.
