Lacy Smith

I am from a town near Sacramento, California and grew up with the nearest beach a few hours away. However, I had plenty of access to beautiful forests and spent a lot of family time camping, fostering my strong connection to nature. After a camping trip to Bodega Bay, California, I was hooked on the ocean after a day of tidepooling. Spending time in nature directly shaped my love for our natural environments and inspired me to become a marine scientist.

Recently, my favorite sea creature has become the leaf sheep sea slug. They have the ability to photosynthesize using chloroplasts they have ingested from their food, storing them for their own use, which I think is really cool. Not to mention – they are adorable!

I study the movement and behaviors of shark species. This includes looking at what habitats they spend their time in and how they react to differences in the environment and anthropogenic influences. During my undergraduate degree, I fell in love with research and knew that I wanted to continue my research career in graduate school.

My undergraduate degree was focused on marine science, but my path through research was not a straightforward one! I started out in a lab focusing on genetic research with rockfish, but ended up in a lab focusing on using technology to study white sharks. An internship I participated in along the way was crucial to my choices, giving me my first experiences with sharks in Florida! I hope to remain in academia and one day head my own research lab, combining my love for research and teaching.

As a graduate student early on in her degree, my typical day at the moment includes going to classes and doing homework, while also keeping up on reading scientific literature for my thesis! However, I also have days sprinkled in with time on the water catching sharks and getting data for our lab’s projects.

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is getting to participate in outreach to the community and share the knowledge I have gained through my research. Gaining this knowledge does come with its challenges – like early mornings and late nights!

Education is one of the most powerful tools for marine conservation, as being informed is the first step in understanding why we need conservation and how we can help! Helping others to learn about the marine environment, grow their love for it, and understand the threats it faces will inspire the next generation of scientists and activists.

Throughout my undergraduate career, I volunteered with many groups that focused on the community and environmental stewardship. Since moving here, I have been fortunate enough to get to work with ANGARI as part of their Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program and serve at FIU STEAM events, participating in educating students in the community.

In my spare time I love to spend time with my roommate, read a lot of fiction books and watch F1. Being new to Miami, I have been having a blast exploring new areas and learning about my new home. The first opportunity I get I will be going on a camping trip and doing some hiking!

My advice for those thinking about studying for a degree is to take every opportunity you have and explore all of your options. When I started my undergrad, I never thought that I would end up loving coding and end up studying sharks! Trying new things, discovering what gives you joy, and what inspires you to look for more information to increase your understanding will lead you to the degree path that is right for you!

Something that keeps me inspired is the thought that the work I do can help to preserve the environment for future generations to come. The ocean was a great source of love in my life growing up, and I want to be able to contribute to the preservation of the ocean so that future young students get to see the ecosystems in all of their beauty and imagine growing up to work in them.