Meet Amanda Kelley, an Assistant Professor

Positives

• This interview shows that career pathways do not look the same for all scientists and that students can follow a childhood passion to develop their careers.
• Dr. Kelley discusses how specific skills and traits such as scuba diving, curiosity, resiliency, and following your interests can manifest into an exciting career.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with scientific research terms such as variables, remote sensors, data collection, and environmental conditions.
• Students may benefit from understanding how climate change impacts oceans and what that can mean for aquatic ecosystems.

Differentiation

• Before reading the article, have students draw out what they think is the typical career timeline of a research scientist.
• Have students choose one of the ocean issues listed in the article to explore further, some of which included shifting ocean pH, increasing ocean temperature, melting polar ice, etc.
• As a class, research and discuss how scientists use remote sensing technology.
• Using Dr. Kelley's timeline as inspiration, students can create career timelines for themselves, reflecting the careers they are interested in.