Aquaculture Heroes: Feed the Fish...Feed the World!

-from "What’s “fin” Your Future?" --Inside HCC Spring 2009

--Craig Kasper, Aquaculture Program Manger

It's a safe bet that the Hillsborough Community College (HCC) Aquaculture Program is all about the students, their retention and success!  Without students and a common purpose we wouldn’t exist.  Aquaculture is one of those unique “go-anywhere-do-anything fields.”  It can lead you into some pretty amazing places and expose you to stuff you’ve never been exposed to before (or in my case since).  That being said, I’d like to spotlight a recent success in HCC Aquaculture ‘fish-tory’

Christine, a former student, entered the HCC Aquaculture program three years ago and admitted she had no prior fish knowledge or fish experience.   However, during the two years we instructed her at HCC, she gained enough fish knowledge to not only graduate with an A.S. degree, but also participate in three hands-on internships (She’s currently competing for a fourth with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Stock Enhancement and Research Facility, SERF).  That in itself is a story worth telling, but it doesn’t end there.In 2008, she was accepted to the Marine Science program at Eckerd College, turning down an offer to attend the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in Miami, FL.  She will soon graduate with her B.S. in Marine Science.  Recently she was awarded a fully funded, eight week International Research Experiences for Students internship  at Xiamen University, China, courtesy of the National Science Foundation.   Upon her return she will present her experiences to the Pinellas County school system.  When I asked her what she did to get it she replied:“I have noticed… in a lot of situations like scholarships … students do not bother if it requires a little foot work, or they are just too scared to try. I still got the internship even though I am new, no one knows me and there are probably kids who have more experience....”  She confided that she was excited and a little nervous about the trip.  However, in that moment too she realized that it all began at HCC. She also encouraged me to keep telling students about opportunities!   Good job Christine!!  Good luck and future success!