While at Notre Dame, Lauren focused on building her skill set in the sciences and exploring her love of storytelling through the creative outlets of photography and writing. She developed a passion for marine life, ocean conservation, and intentional travel while studying abroad in Perth, Australia. This motivated her to apply for a shark conservation internship in South Africa after her junior year, where she quickly realized she wanted to spend as much time on the water observing wildlife as possible. After graduation, Lauren moved to Maui, Hawai’i, where she worked as a marine naturalist and began her dynamic career as a whale watch and dolphin guide, photographer, and boat crew member. She’s lived in the San Juan Islands, Washington; Kaikoura, New Zealand; Hervey Bay, Australia; Maui, Hawai’i; and Ha’apai, Tonga, educating people about ocean life. She writes about her experiences on her blog, The Greenest Blue. Lauren advocates for women and non-binary people in STEMM, hoping to make these fields more safe and inclusive. She is also passionate about mental health, neurodiversity, and the relationship between individual well-being and ecological harmony. Now, at UC Santa Cruz, Lauren is studying the impact of human activity on marine mammals. Every February and March, she ventures to the Western Antarctic Peninsula on expedition ships to study whale behavior and health. Her biggest dreams include advocating for wildlife rights and traveling the world on a sailboat while working as a freelance science communicator. Lauren has previously led student programs in Hawaii and Iceland.