{"id":28705,"date":"2026-08-20T12:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=28705"},"modified":"2026-09-13T21:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T04:34:40","slug":"usc-students-explore-conservation-careers-on-catalina-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/usc-students-explore-conservation-careers-on-catalina-island\/","title":{"rendered":"USC students explore conservation careers on Catalina Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/wies-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/wies-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/wies-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/wies-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photo of diver next to kelp\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  On Catalina Island, USC students gain hands-on experience in marine science while exploring how their interests can lead to careers in conservation. (Photo: Nick Neumann\/ USC Dornsife Wrigley Institute.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>USC students explore conservation careers on Catalina Island<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  With support from The Macfarlane Foundation, students venture to USC Dornsife\u2019s Wrigley Marine Science Center to learn from environmental leaders and discover new ways to turn their interests into careers.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Taline Rumaya<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 20, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over lunch at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/visit-wrigley-marine-science-center-wmsc\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">USC Wrigley Marine Science Center<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Catalina Island, JD Black found himself talking about reptiles and amphibians with a conservation professional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black, who is pursuing a communication major at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/annenberg.usc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> along with a minor in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">psychology<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, was working as a summer education intern when a team from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/catalinaconservancy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catalina Island Conservancy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> visited campus. As he spoke with them about the island\u2019s wildlife and their careers, conservation began to look less like an abstract interest and more like a possible future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have always thought conservation was cool, but this experience made me seriously consider it as a career path,\u201d says Black.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was the kind of encounter the David H. Meid Visiting Mentor Program was created to foster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supported by The Macfarlane Foundation, the program brings leaders in environment and sustainability to the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/education\/catalina-residential-college\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catalina Residential College<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to engage with students participating in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/education\/catalina-residential-college\/catalina-island-maymester\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban Oceans Maymester<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe hope is that by bringing creative, driven people together, a simple conversation may turn into an influential event in a student\u2019s life and career,\u201d says Duncan Macfarlane, trustee of the Macfarlane Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By giving mentors time to interact with students and faculty in informal settings \u2014 over a meal or on the dock overlooking the harbor \u2014 the program enables connections to develop naturally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Meid Visiting Mentor Program originated at Marymount College, where it honored the late David H. Meid, a former trustee and supporter of the college\u2019s mission to transform lives through education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Marymount closed in 2022, Macfarlane \u2014 with his longstanding interest in the ocean \u2014 saw the Wrigley Marine Science Center as a natural new home for the endowment and its original purpose: giving students and faculty opportunities to spend meaningful time with people they might otherwise never meet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Learning beyond the classroom<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each summer, the Urban Oceans Maymester transforms the Wrigley Marine Science Center into a learning community where students explore environmental challenges from multiple perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2026, more than three dozen students took courses spanning aquatic microbiology, marine biology and biological oceanography, coastal sustainability, and environmental history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside their coursework, students participated in activities and conversations connecting what they learned with people putting those ideas into practice. Support from The Macfarlane Foundation allowed the Wrigley Institute to bring more visiting speakers to Catalina Island than ever before, including conservationists, scientists and civic leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scott Atkinson and Luisa Tam, both senior directors at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conservation International<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, discussed a conservation approach that works with surfing communities to protect biologically important coastal areas. Afterward, they spoke with students about internships and leadership opportunities through a collaboration between Conservation International and the Wrigley Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28707\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28707\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-28707 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/Student-Annika-Harusadangkul-500x334.jpg\" alt=\"Woman on beach looking at shell.\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/Student-Annika-Harusadangkul-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/Student-Annika-Harusadangkul-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/Student-Annika-Harusadangkul-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/Student-Annika-Harusadangkul.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28707\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recent USC Dornsife graduate Annika Harusadangkul gets a closer look at Catalina Island\u2019s coastal environment during the Urban Oceans Maymester. (Photo: Jasmine Ying.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Annika Harusadangkul, who graduated this spring with a BS in environmental studies from USC Dornsife, the conversation offered a glimpse of how she might turn her interest in marine science into action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHearing Scott and Luisa talk about their journeys in the field of conservation has motivated me to pursue marine conservation nonprofit work during my upcoming gap year,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other mentors showed students how environmental challenges intersect with economics, policy and community engagement. Paul Armsworth, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, explored how ecological and socioeconomic data can inform conservation decisions. USC Vice President of Civic Engagement and Economic Partnerships Effie Turnbull Sanders drew on her experience with the California Coastal Commission to engage students in questions about environmental justice and coastal decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Catalina Island Conservancy team expanded the model further. With support from The Macfarlane Foundation, seven representatives came to campus, giving students opportunities to speak with professionals specializing in Channel Islands ecology, invasive plant management, ornithology and Catalina mammals, among other topics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAt the core, this is an opportunity to encourage and support the exceptional USC students to explore more, learn more, and create more through their individual and collective efforts,\u201d says Macfarlane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s not really giving back,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s investing in the students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n  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careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":28711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[114,167,476],"class_list":["post-28705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","category-sustainability","tag-environmental-studies","tag-student","tag-usc-wrigley-institute"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>USC students explore conservation careers on Catalina Island<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With The Macfarlane Foundation support, students learn from environmental leaders and discover new ways to turn their interests into careers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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