Through donor commitment, FIU students gain opportunities to participate in groundbreaking marine research, explore some of our world’s most complex ecosystems, and contribute to discoveries that can help shape their future.
When curiosity and opportunity collide like ocean waves meeting the shore, possibility begins to take shape. At FIU, students have an extraordinary classroom just beyond the coastline, where they can move from wondering about the world beneath the surface to exploring it firsthand. Through funds like the CASE Impact Fund, donors can help make these experiences possible by providing the College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE) with the flexibility to respond to emerging needs and support students, faculty, and programs. Gifts to the fund can help provide access to research experiences, scholarships, equipment, and opportunities that allow students to dive deeper into what they love.
For Jordan V., a CASE student and Marine Biology major, that journey began with a lifelong love of the water. Growing up, the ocean was a place he naturally gravitated toward, but it was not until a high school marine biology teacher encouraged him to explore his interest in environmental science and conservation that he began to see that passion as something more.
At FIU, Jordan has been able to turn that passion into purpose. Through his experience at the Campbell Global Change Biology Research Lab, Jordan’s curiosity has taken him beneath the surface and into research, conservation, and a future he once could only imagine. His story offers a glimpse of what philanthropy can set in motion: one student’s curiosity becoming hands-on experience, discovery, and, ultimately, knowledge that can reach far beyond him.
Q: What first sparked your curiosity about marine biology, and what difference can it make in the world?
Jordan: Growing up, I was always told that I was like a fish. I love the ocean. I love the water – rivers, lakes, pools. Going into FIU, I knew that marine biology would be a field that would grant me opportunities to be out in the world, to explore, enjoy the environment, and give back to the environment because I feel like it has given so much to me. I break down the difference that marine biology can make in the world into three different parts: tourism, technology, and fishery science. Marine life can inspire new technologies through biomimicry, where we study how nature solves problems and apply those ideas to human technology and efficiencies. Marine biology research can also lead to new medicines by helping us understand compounds found in the ocean. Fishery science helps ensure the fish we rely on for food remain healthy and sustainable. And for many communities, especially those with small economies, marine ecosystems are essential to tourism, from coral reefs to swimming with manta rays and sharks. Across all of these areas, marine biology helps us understand and protect resources that living beings depend on.
Q: Before coming to FIU, what did you think was possible for you, and what feels possible now?
Jordan: Before coming to FIU, I was not sure what was possible for me. I remember telling my family that I was going to study marine biology, and they did not know what that meant. They did not know if I was going to be able to find a steady career in the future. Coming to FIU and going through the marine biology program, I get to interact with so many amazing individuals who have done such great work in the field of marine biology, who have contributed so largely to science, and knowing that, and understanding that, was so key for me to realize that really anything is possible. So, after graduating, I know that anything that I do is a worthwhile contribution to the field of marine science, whether that is me doing lab work, field work, helping in conservation, or discovering new species. Anything is possible when our field is so vast and so largely undiscovered. But that’s the point: we are marine biologists, and we are inspired to continue to explore oceans.
Q: What opportunity at FIU gave you the chance to experience marine science beyond the classroom? How has that experience changed what you imagine doing after FIU?
Jordan: FIU puts me in a position to take what I learn in the classroom and apply it in the field. I volunteered at FIU’s Campbell Global Change Biology Research Lab, where we studied seagrass ecosystems at Virginia Key and Crandon Beach. Through labs, classes, and research opportunities at Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), I have been able to explore different areas of marine biology, from oceanography and zoology to coral reefs and climate science. I became especially interested in coral reefs, which led me to explore conservation more deeply. The research and mentorship I have found through FIU’s marine biology program have helped me see where I want to go next. As I enter my final year, I am looking toward a career in conservation, whether that means protecting coral reef systems or wildlife more broadly.
Q: What would you say to donors who make experiences like this possible for FIU students?
Jordan: Thank you. [Donors] have helped give me the education of a lifetime. I would not be the person I am today without the FIU marine biology department. There is so much left to discover and to understand about environmental science. Why something is the way it is in our environment can have a million different reasons, and just figuring out one of them could lead to a million different questions. There is always going to be more to understand about our natural world. If people continue to put effort by donating, volunteering, and researching, it is only going to broaden our understanding of our oceans, our world as a whole, and make life better.