The Bradley biology department’s semester seminar drew a full classroom of students for senior biology major Helen Ratchford’s presentation on coral reefs in the Caribbean Seas.
Past seminars hosted at Olin Hall have ranged from guest speakers presenting projects to departments collaborating to demonstrate energy solutions to curious students.
“Helen is a researcher through my lab who has done work on coral restoration for the last several summers, and she’s learned a lot and really wanted to share that information with somebody,” John Marino, associate professor of biology, said. “I suggested doing a seminar, and she was willing to do it.”
While giving a seminar to fellow biology majors is unconventional, Ratchford had both the experience and the knowledge to take on the challenge.
“I did a lot of presenting while I was on the Virgin Islands working for the coral people,” Ratchford explained.
In reference to the ‘coral people,’ Ratchford highlighted other aspects of coral work.
“They do a lot of outreach stuff for the community, and I help with their video editing,” Ratchford said. “I also do a lot of feeding, cleaning and building. That’s where I get my power tool knowledge: building tanks, stands and plumbing for them [corals].”
Despite the variety of work within coral research and restoration, Ratchford’s seminar addressed the many setbacks within the field.
“[A lot of] threats are economic. We don’t get a lot of help generally from the states when it comes to hurricanes and everything, but also, scientific funding,” Ratchford said. “We get whatever is left over from other people at our university, and so this loss of funds from the current administration has really drowned coral people.”
Additionally, Ratchford recounted a time when the environmental setbacks almost put researchers in danger.
“Two summers ago, we were out planting, and we got this huge thunderstorm … and it turned into a tropical storm while we were in the water,” Ratchford said. “We’ve done a lot of dangerous things, but it’s just so much fun.”
Seminars like Ratchford’s aim not only to educate students but to inspire them in their prospective fields.
“The majority of our students are pre-med, but we have others who are interested in going into research, including ecology research and environmental research,” Marino said. “Giving everyone a taste of all these different fields, I think, is really important, especially to help those who are [still] trying to figure out what they want to do.”
The efforts to broaden the scope of interest for Bradley’s students, while having attracted a full classroom, also left attendees motivated.
“It was really cool to see [Ratchford’s] experiences. In the summers, I haven’t been doing much; [Ratchford] seems like she’s been doing a lot. So, it’s inspiring,” Alexander Sebastian, a senior biomedical science major, said.
With a room full of seniors looking for research ideas, curious students and intrigued faculty, the biology department’s seminar created an ecosystem of learning as colorful as the reefs of the Caribbean.
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