The Penguin Prof
I'm a college biology professor and my philosophy is simple - I work hard, play hard, try to do good in the world and try not to miss life's daily miracles. I am SO INCREDIBLY THANKFUL for this amazing life and for the opportunity to share my passion with others. I love my students and I love my job!!!
Everyone asks me about the penguins. Yes, I am a penguin fanatic. It's not curable as far as I know. I was infected at the tender age of 5, when my parents took me to see penguins at a marine park and I was hooked. All I wanted to do was sit and watch the penguins - all day, every day (my folks got a season pass). I really cannot explain it, but penguins just made sense to me. And at the age of 5, there's not much in the world that makes sense, so you've just got to go with it when that happens. Due to my penguin preoccupations, choosing a major in college wasn't exactly a challenge. I went to UCSC for my undergraduate studies (Biology) and then went to grad school at the University of Hawaii (Zoology) and had opportunities to work with penguins all over the world. I branched out a bit, worked with other amazing marine mammals and seabirds, but I kept going back to penguins. I studied diving physiology, reproductive endocrinology and did some work in conservation and seabird habitat restoration. Penguins got me to Antarctica (and islands of the Southern Ocean like South Georgia) as well as New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Chile and the Galapagos; there are 17 species of penguins all over the Southern Hemisphere, so it took awhile. |
University of Bologna
King Penguin colony in Gold Harbor, South Georgia
First penguin job!!! Penguin Encounter at Sea World.
Giving a talk for The Climate Project
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Travel
Being a biologist is fantastic because I have opportunities for traveling all over the world, and travel is one of the things in life I enjoy most. If you start asking me about my favorite places, I can go on forever... so I came up with a top 10 + 1 list (not in any particular order):
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"You were born with wings." |
Dance Saved My Life
Several years ago I suffered a medical crisis, and I fell apart. My first marriage ended. I was overwhelmed by anxiety and fear. I tried a lot of things (therapy, support groups, the usual) but nothing really worked. Eventually, I found healing through dance. Dance allows me to escape the confines of my left hemisphere and express the emotions which I had previously no outlet for. In the process I met an amazing man with whom I now share my life and also my dance career - in an Argentine Tango ensemble! He is an organic chemist (you know him from our FabioChem videos!) He is also Italian and I fell in love not just with him but with an entire country! I study Italian and we travel regularly to visit family. My passion for all things Italian is endless - the food, the wine, the art, the music, the history, the architecture, the language... it's such an amazing country and I have to say, a WONDERFUL country and culture to marry into!
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Alla Fine
 Great pyramids of Giza, Egypt
So there you go. I have been so fortunate to be able to achieve so many dreams that I've had for myself and now I have the AMAZING opportunity to help my students to achieve theirs - which turns out to be even more rewarding.
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