Her passion for marine life has led Mariana Kneppers ’18 to live outside her comfort zone.
By Roselee Papandrea Taylor
Rather than head straight to graduate school to begin work on a doctorate in coral ecology, Mariana Kneppers ’18 is living outside of her comfort zone for a year and gaining hands-on experience. Originally from Walnut Creek, California, her time at Elon exposed her to both. She studied abroad twice, spent summers away from home pursuing internships and, in addition to the many academic demands required of a dual major in biology and environmental and ecological science, Kneppers conducted undergraduate research as a Lumen Scholar and Elon College Fellow.
Since September, she has participated in a volunteer divemaster internship with Global Visions International off the coast of East Africa. She lives in the Seychelles on the island of Mahe, nestled among the mountains but with quick access to crystal blue water where research opportunities abound. “I chose the program to harness my skills conducting underwater research on marine conservation and also to obtain my PADI divemaster certification while challenging myself to live far out of my comfort zone,” Kneppers says.
For three months, she went diving twice a day, collecting data on coral growth. Her project focused on expanding a coral restoration nursery as well as planting baby corals back onto the reef to assist with reef recovery. “What stands out most to me is the sheer diversity of coral and marine life,” she says. “There are species here I have never heard of in my life.”
In the past decade, two major coral bleaching events have occurred in the Seychelles, causing a 95 percent loss of hard coral coverage. Those events typically happen when water temperatures are too hot for coral to survive. Coral can recover but only if the water temperature drops back within comfortable range, something that is unlikely to happen while sea temperature continues to steadily rise. “The science that we conduct allows us to see how many baby corals are recruited to the reef over time,” Kneppers says. “By monitoring the number of new recruits and their growth, we can see how well the reef is recovering from these events.”
Living in a simple room with seven other volunteers, Kneppers had adjusted to life without modern conveniences, such as air conditioning or warm water. The closest store and bus station were just a mile and a half away, except she had to walk to get there. Now in the second half of her internship, she lives in town. In between taking people out diving, she is learning dive theory and rescue procedures, completing fitness tests and learning how to run a dive shop—all qualifications required of the PADI divemaster course.
The experience has provided meaningful insights. Kneppers discovered she isn’t just honing her research skills. “Through my coral restoration project and my time working with clients at the shop, I’ve been surprised by my confidence collaborating and leading others around me in a cooperative manner,” she says. “I’ve learned that being a leader means more than just delegating jobs. It’s also about ensuring your peers gain something from your guidance. There’s a difference between telling someone what to do and teaching them in a way that promotes personal growth.”
Kneppers’ interest in coral ecology and passion for marine life, research and exploration were all ignited while spending a Winter Term in Belize when she was a sophomore at Elon. “We only spent the final week and a half on the coast,” she recalls. “But we spent every day out snorkeling on the water learning to identify species of fish, algae and coral while performing field experiments.” It was life-defining. “I found that I loved being out in the field every day, swimming amongst the coral heads,” she says.
That experience instilled the confidence she needed to spend a full semester abroad, which she did in spring 2017. “My passion for marine research really blossomed during my time in Turks and Caicos,” she says. The courses she took there focused on marine conservation and research, with an emphasis on evaluating local sea cucumber populations as a potential fishery. While there, she obtained her PADI advanced scuba certification, diving twice a week conducting underwater labs, something that sparked her passion for underwater dive-based research. “I decided I wanted to pursue conservation work after graduating, focusing on using scuba techniques for data collection.” Her dive safety officer in the Turks and Caicos told her about the Seychelles program. “I knew it was the program for me and ideal for my career goals,” she says.
A recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship and the Lumen Prize while at Elon, Kneppers spent three years working on a research project mentored by Brant Touchette, professor of biology and environmental studies. She examined heat and salt stress in coastal marsh plants at risk from threats associated with climate change. Kneppers’ work on that project left an impression on Touchette, who is getting that research ready for publication this spring. “Mariana is very dedicated,” he says. “Part of that is exemplified in what she’s done in terms of her data collection.” One of the studies involved chlorophyll fluorescence, which produce massive data sets. “She had hours upon hours of that and had to comb through that data, synthesize it and summarize it. It took hours and hours to do. She remained focused and never wavered.”
During the past several months, she applied for a Fulbright grant and the Marshall Scholarship, both prestigious awards that would allow her to pursue a graduate degree in the United Kingdom. She was the first Elon graduate to be shortlisted for an interview for the Marshall Scholarship, says Janet Myers, director of the National and International Fellowships Office. Preparing with Myers and Sarah Krech, associate director of National and International Fellowships, for the 30-minute, rapid-fire interview in front of a panel of eight wasn’t always easy. “Given that I was living in the jungle with a terrible Wi-Fi connection, preparing for the interviews took some strategic planning,” Kneppers says.
She flew to San Francisco in November and found out a few days after making the trek back to the Seychelles that she didn’t receive the award. “I was proud to have made it as far as I did,” she says. “It was an incredible learning experience that has prepared me for similar interviews in the future.” She will find out in the spring if she received the Fulbright award to study at Imperial College in London, where she hopes to earn a master’s degree in science communication.
Earning a doctorate in coral reef ecology remains a goal, and Kneppers plans to pursue a career that would allow her to serve as a liaison between the scientific community and the general public—another interest she shaped while at Elon. It happened while presenting her research at various conferences and to her peers. She has her sights set on a job with the BBC or National Geographic. “I really enjoy communicating science and realize that I have a knack for it as well,” she says. “I love watching the lightbulb go on when someone understands a complex scientific topic like chlorophyll fluorescence. It’s so rewarding to show people that science isn’t just for scientists.”