Carlyn Scott, College of Marine Science
Teresa Greely was a graduate student at the USF College of Marine Science studying deep sea fish when she first volunteered for the Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls (OCG). She quickly discovered her passion for teaching students about oceanography, and loved the hands-on, experiential aspect of the camp. Now, over three decades later, hundreds of students have learned the tenants of oceanography through field trips aboard kayaks and research vessels, in laboratories at the college, and waist deep in the Gulf measuring fish out of seine nets.
After graduation, Greely became the director of the camp and for 30 years has served as the director of education and outreach for the college. She credits her career path to the experience of teaching at OCG.
For over three decades, Teresa Greely has served as director of the Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls.
When the camp was launched in 1991 by former , he and his colleagues wanted to create a program that would get students interested in marine science and let them be active contributors to the field.
“We teach teens how to conduct research with as much scientific rigor as we expect from graduate students,” Greely said. “That level of skill and technique that we provide for students at such a young age is one quality that makes this program unique. Another key component of OCG is the emphasis on communication, confidence, and positive assets.”
The camp introduces teenagers to all aspects of research — from laboratory experiments and field sampling to data analysis — while working alongside experts who guide them throughout the process.
Teens, undergraduates, and graduate students (or pre-scientists, as Greely calls them) in the program contribute to decades-long datasets within Tampa Bay, including measuring oxygen levels in the seagrass beds near Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County. Brad Seibel, biological oceanographer and professor at the College of Marine Science, used these data collected by OCG to better understand how fish survive in low oxygen regions.
Campers learn about marine science through field experiments and activities, such as measuring sea grass abundance in the field.
“We have an extensive dataset throughout Tampa Bay,” Greely said. “We’ve collected data on everything from salinity, juvenile fishes, nutrients, and seagrass density, and all of it is freely available for public use.”
The ability to collect data alongside graduate students is a huge draw for the campers. Students use the same tools, techniques, and equipment that are standard in the oceanography field. With the scope of experiences, campers that came in excited to learn about marine biology now are equipped with skills and understanding of the geology, physics, and chemistry of the ocean, with many identifying new interests and career paths.
For graduate students at the USF College of Marine Science, the camp serves as a place to gain experience teaching and communicating their research to a younger audience.
Along with the science, campers gain skills in communicating their research throughout the program, and at the end of summer campers present their data and experiences to their friends and family, as well as sponsors and supporters of the program.
“I could feel myself gradually becoming a more self-confident person that was comfortable with expressing myself,” said Sarah Blackett, an alumna of the camp who is now a mechanical engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I could see myself being a scientist because I was doing actual science, and I was having so much fun learning alongside my fellow campers and the amazing staff.”
Alumni of the program, such as Sarah Blackett (left image), have gone on to pursue careers in science. Many more, such as Allison Nall (right image), credit the experience to their life-long curiosity. Both pictured during their time as campers.
Alumni of the program have gone on to be scientists in many fields, from medicine to geology, and many more have said the camp made a positive impact on their lives. In turn, these alumni make positive impacts in their communities.
“The science knowledge I gained from OCG has benefited me both personally and professionally and serves me almost every day in general reasoning and problem solving,” said Allison Nall, who attended the camp in 2004 and returned as a mentor in later years.
“I'm grateful I have been able to bring the sciences back around and into my professional life now,” said Nall, who now works as associate vice president for . “I'm proud to be able to help bring the sciences to another generation through scholarships in my fundraising role –– it feels like a full circle moment.”
OCG benefits graduate students at the college as well.
“We have so many grad students who serve as science mentors for the camp and learn that they truly enjoy teaching and community engagement opportunities,” Greely said. “It’s incredible to see grad students really come into their own and discover their passion for education or a new way to describe their research.”
The camp has an intensive three-week training schedule, where graduate students practice the field trips, labs, and lessons that they will teach the campers the following week. Greely emphasized that the program is a great way to develop teaching and science communication skills for graduate students, as well as grant writing by understanding the broader impacts of the ocean sciences.
Isabella Iannotta, a graduate student at the college in the lab of Mark Luther, described her experience at the camp as “amazing.”
“This was my first exposure to teaching, and I was really blown away by how enthusiastic and curious the students were,” Iannotta said. “Getting this type of experience really helped me hone my method of communicating science to a younger audience, which I think will be helpful regardless of which route I take in my career.”
Makenzie Kerr is a poster child for the success of OCG. Kerr was a camper in 2009, attended the College of Marine Science for graduate school, and now works as the co-director of the camp. She remembers the feeling of deploying instruments on the research cruise and seeing plankton for the first time under a microscope.
“It made a big impression on me,” Kerr said. “OCG helped me decide I wanted to teach at this experiential, high level, where we do activities that most only read about in textbooks.”
Her favorite part of the camp is seeing the progress of the girls throughout the program.
Makenzie Kerr, who was a camper in 2009, is now the co-director of the Oceanography Camp Especially for Girl.
“Three weeks doesn’t seem like a long time, but when the campers are trying new experiences every day, they learn so much about marine science and themselves in the process,” she said.
The camp is free for participants. With support from OCG endowments established by Betzer, the College of Marine Science’s Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls is prepared to continue for teens in Pinellas County.
“My hope for the future is that we can continue Peter Betzer’s legacy of ocean education that benefits the campers, graduate students, and the college,” said Greely. “This is an incredible opportunity to develop the next generation of oceanographers and science-informed citizens.”
You can help support a camper by donating at .
Campers have contributed to decades-long datasets within Tampa Bay, collecting data on salinity, juvenile fish, nutrients, and seagrass density.