2024 Commencement
Congratulations to the Marine and Coastal Science Majors Class of 2024!
We celebrate all of you and the enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to marine science that has brought you here, and will lead you to revolutionize scientific understanding of our field, communicate, connect, and engage with communities, and become educators, researchers, and world-changers.
Meet a few of this year's grads, and find out where they're headed next:
Lena Molteni
"I have always loved animals and nature, and I went tidepooling for the first time in a marine biology elective course in community college. I found the MCS major when I transferred to UC Davis in 2022, and fell in love with intertidal ecology after taking marine ecology here. Some of my most memorable experiences as an MCS major include my summer taking oceanography classes at Bodega Marine Laboratory, volunteering on California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program boat trips with local fishermen, and doing research in the Gold paleobiology lab, using sponge fossil morphologies as novel proxies for paleoenvironmental conditions during the late Ordovician.
Minoring in geology and studying paleobiology gave me valuable context for the mechanisms that shape our coastlines and their communities today. I have really loved studying marine & coastal science, and the field experience and species identification skills I gained through multiple classes and research experiences have greatly benefited me as a scientist. Post-graduation, I am working as a field biologist for a Sacramento area environmental consulting firm."
- Lena Molteni, Marine & Coastal Science major with a focus in Oceans & the Earth System and two minors in Geology and Italian.
Tiffany Huynh
"I chose this major because of my love for seafood. I've been eating seafood my whole life because it is heavily integrated into Vietnamese cuisine. Throughout my undergrad experience, I've learned that seafood, especially salmon, holds so much economic and cultural significance here in California, especially for indigenous communities. I hope to use what I've learned to promote seafood sustainability and preserve access to historically cultural foods for all.
My most memorable experience here at UC Davis has been conducting fieldwork monitoring rotary screw traps along Putah Creek with the Fangue Lab. It consisted of many early mornings, but I think the views were worth it! Plus, it has been such a great opportunity to learn and work with a team of people who are just as passionate about fish conservation as I am."
- Tiffany Huynh, Marine & Coastal Sciences Major with an emphasis in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology focus
Zoe Brumbaugh
"I came into Davis freshman year as a marine science major because I knew I loved tide pooling. My grandpa was also a marine biologist, so growing up we would go on family trips out into the tide pools of the Sonoma Coast and I fell in love with those explorations and all of the critters I saw!
My most memorable experiences in the major have been the summers I’ve got to spend out at the Bodega Marine Lab. First through Dr. Eric Sanford’s invertebrate field class in the summer of 2022, and then as one of the Kendra M. Chan fellows in the EVE Scholars program during the summer of 2023. I feel so lucky for all the people I’ve gotten to interact with and all the ways they’ve made me into a better student and marine scientist!
After graduation, I’m heading to Maine to complete a Scientists in Parks Ecology Assistant position in Acadia National Park with the Schoodic Institute! I’ll be spending the summer in the intertidal zone doing monitoring, as well as working with citizen science groups.
I’d love to say a huge thank you to everyone in the Sanford Lab, at BML, and CMSI for all of the ways they’ve made my time at Davis so special. It’s what makes leaving so bittersweet!"
- Zoe Brumbaugh, Marine & Coastal Sciences Major with an emphasis in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology
Oceanna Warnock
"A few different things brought me into the marine sciences, one of them being my name! My family has always loved the ocean and we go whenever we can. There is this unexplainable feeling in my gut whenever I think of it, almost like there is a calling for me, so I just know this is meant to be for me. Other than that, the ocean is in dire need for help and I want to be a part of it.
The most memorable experience at UCD (and part of the major) was taking classes at Bodega (Marine Laboratory). Learning hands on was wonderful to see, on top of making good friends. I'm not sure where I'm headed, but I'm interested in working for NOAA or anything including coral reefs."
- Oceanna Warnock, Marine and Coastal Science major with a focus in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology
Jordan Bockert
"Growing up in San Diego, the ocean has always been my happy place, but I first knew I wanted to study marine sciences in the 4th grade when I went to speak at a Climate Change Student Summit (see photo of little me) and I started networking with a marine biologist. Having the opportunity to be a MCS student at Davis really opened my eyes to a whole new depth of knowledge about my happy place.
My most memorable experiences stem from those that came from the amazing friendships and connections I created within this major and at the Bodega Marine Lab over the summer. MCS is a small major at Davis, so we tend to stick together and it makes all the experiences that much better. Following graduation, I will be commissioning into the United States Navy and heading to Naval Flight School!"
- Jordan Bockert, Marine & Coastal Sciences Major with an emphasis in Oceans and Earth Systems