At the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society’s 45th annual meeting, held in New York City in May, four of the five incoming OWUSS interns for Summer 2019 discovered a common connection: a tie to diving and passion for science that could be traced back to work with Dr. Franziska Elmer.

2019 OWUSS Interns (Left to right) Ben Farmer, Abbey Dias, Kyra Jean Cipolla, and Liza Hasan at the 2019 OWUSS annual event.

“Fran” is a professor and research mentor who is known by students for her work at CIEE Bonaire and School for Field Studies Turks and Caicos (SFS TCI). Fran is from Switzerland and has her Ph.D. in Marine Biology from Victoria University of New Wellington (New Zealand). Her focus is on coral recruitment and calcium carbonate budgets, as well as on the macroalgae Sargassum sp. She is currently a professor of Marine Ecology at SFS TCI and uses 3D modeling to study coral reefs and hurricane damage. She is also working with other SFS TCI faculty in collaboration with the world-renowned biochemical algae lab at Greenwich University in London to find possible products that can be made from sargassum such as fertilizer and biofuel. The floating sargassum rafts accumulate near the TCI and wash up on the beaches, which can cause harm to existing seagrass ecosystems. The ultimate goal is to use the sargassum for biofuel in the TCI and reduce the importation of fossil fuels to the islands.

Fran also has an interest in the infection of reef fish by the dermal parasite Scaphalocephanus expansus and is monitoring the parasites present in the TCI.

Franziska “Fran” Elmer, Ph.D.

Abbey Dias (DAN/OWUSS Dive Safety Education Intern) and Kyra Jean Cipolla (Dr. Lee H. Sommers AAUS Scientific Diving Intern) met during their semester abroad studying marine science in the Turks and Caicos at the School for Field Studies. There, they took Fran’s Marine Ecology class and were both part of her research team studying topographic complexity of corals and biodiversity using 3D photogrammetry.

“Fran is one of the most fun people to work with on land and underwater. She is innovative and pays close attention to detail. She taught me how to write my first full-length scientific paper, how to make ‘nice cream’ out of frozen bananas, and multiple different ways to make a meal out of sargassum! Her ingenuity and commitment to conservation are inspiring. She supported me when I wanted to design my own research project and provided me with the guidance and encouragement I needed for it to succeed.” – Abbey Dias

“Not only does she teach science well, she is a model at marine conservation and an advocate for sustainability. During the semester that I spent with Fran, I could tell she really wanted her students to do well, and she always communicated with us about opportunities, new research technologies and techniques, and gave us great advice on how to be effective scientists. She definitely helped me grow as a marine scientist, and I wouldn’t have succeeded as the AAUS Scientific Diving Intern without knowing and learning from Fran.”—Kyra Jean Cipolla

Fran (bottom right in pink) diving with students Abbey (in blue) and Kyra (blue fins) in South Caicos, Turks and Caicos, to conduct coral reef research during Fall 2019 at the School for Field Studies.

Liza Hasan (AAUS Mitchell Scientific Diving Research Intern) and Ben Farmer (Dr. Jamie L. King REEF Marine Conservation Intern) also knew each other previously through their study abroad program at CIEE Bonaire.

“[Fran’s] mentorship on my coral disease research project is what truly sparked my passion for marine research and fieldwork… She showed me how to be an intense researcher that gets a lot of things done, while also staying passionate about what you believe in, and having fun doing it. I could not have asked for a better mentor to direct me into the world of tropical marine science, and I am overjoyed to be rejoining her again in Turks & Caicos in the fall, this time as a Waterfront Assistant. She was one of the people that inspired me to stay involved with the education abroad world, and I am very excited to work alongside her soon!”—Ben Farmer

“Dr. Elmer inspired us all with her personal testament of what the pristine marine world looks like through her experiences on the Palmyra Atoll. I was inspired by Dr. Elmer to seek out interesting field positions and educational experiences far and wide after learning about the previous positions she has held. It was Dr. Elmer who suggested that my fellow CIEE students and I apply for internships through Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society. It is no coincidence that four of Dr. Elmer’s students across two different study abroad programs have received Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society internships. Not only is Dr. Elmer dedicated to research and conservation, but she is dedicated to her students.”—Liza Hasan

Fran (peeking out from the middle of the back) preparing to dive with students Liza (far left) and Ben (far right) in Bonaire.

Aside from scuba diving and marine science, Fran is passionate about art and environmental conservation. She is currently working to fund the purchase of a device that will turn plastic waste into useful items such as flower pots for the small island of South Caicos, where the SFS center is located.

This upcoming year, Fran will take a climate change sabbatical which will allow her to develop a number of projects. The first is to begin project management of offshore sargassum harvesting research for carbon sequestration and biofuel sources. Then, she will then bike 1,800 miles across seven countries while documenting environmental projects taking place along the Danube river, starting in Germany. Finally, Fran will organize the Caribbean section of the Global Coral Reef Week symposium, and increase accessibility to students and the general public.

Abbey, Kyra, Liza, and Ben would like to thank Fran for her hard work teaching students like us about the importance of marine ecosystems and ocean conservation. Fran’s influence on these interns has been incredibly important to their interest in pursuing careers in marine science and advocating for the protection of our ocean.

Kyra Jean and Fran on the last day in TCI.

Abbey and Fran on the last day in TCI.

Ben and Fran working together in TCI.

What does John Denver have to do with scuba diving? Nothing, really. Yet somehow, I ended up singing four hours of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in the car as I made the trip from Durham, North Carolina, to Beckley, West Virginia, last week.

This was in part because I was curious about the Blue Ridge Mountains John sings about, but mostly because I was on my way to the 24^th World Scout Jamboree. I wonder if John still would have considered it “Almost Heaven, West Virginia” if he made it to Summit Bechtel Reserve where the 44,000 scouts gathered for two weeks.

This is an international event that draws scouts from all over the world, and this year, more than 165 countries were represented. The main goal of the experience is to bring young people together to promote peace and the development of life skills and leadership.

The reserve covers over 10,000 acres of wilderness and has some of the largest outdoor-activity facilities in the country, including zip lines, climbing walls, and lakes. Additionally, there were multiple large, four-foot-deep inflatable pools in the center of all the booths at the Jamboree. The pools were outfitted with tons of BCDs, regulators, masks, scuba cylinders and an onsite compressor so the scouts could try scuba diving for the first time with a divemaster. I even had the chance to take a dive! (Can I log that?)

Large inflatable pools for scuba diving. Picture by Rhett Hendrickson. The DAN booth is located to the right in white tents. Campsite can be seen below the scuba center in the upper right corner.

Since the scuba diving experience is one of the largest events at the scout Jamboree, DAN sends staff members there every year to promote dive safety and coach scouts in CPR. The Jamboree is two weeks long; I attended the first week of the event accompanied by Jim Gunderson, Reilly Fogarty, and 4 CPR manikins to run our “CPR challenge” activity. Reilly, DAN research intern Andrea, and her husband, James ran the second week.

The goal of attending the Jamboree each year is to empower scouts to seek training and gain skills that can save lives in or out of the water. While we were not providing anyone with a full CPR class or official trianing, we did demonstrate 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths. After the demos, we let the scouts have a try on the manikins for two minutes while we coached their technique.

Demonstrating 30 chest compressions with two rescue breaths to a group from Chile.

Coaching students as they practiced two minutes of CPR with a group from the United States.

It was interesting to see how many people were new to CPR versus those who already had training. I learned that many European countries teach CPR in school! We observed a wide range of skill levels, but everyone was enthusiastic about learning and improving.

Most scouts that attended our booth on the first day were English speakers, but we did meet one group from Argentina. I asked where they were from and if they were familiar with CPR. A girl in the front admitted that they did not know English and started to walk out of the tent. On the fly, I dug way back into my brain to recover something from the four years of Spanish classes I took in high school (with a wonderful teacher I might add), but it had been three years since I last spoke it. I did not want the scouts to walk out of our tent because they did not understand English, so I told them, “Uno momento! Yo hablo Español, pero no es muy bueno.” They laughed and agreed to come into the tent for a lesson.

It took a minute for my brain to switch into Spanish mode, but once it did, I was able to demonstrate CPR in Spanish to the group. Speaking Spanish may not be a skill I would put on a resume, but I was very surprised at my ability to successfully communicate with the group. That night, I went back to my hotel and studied up a few key words I didn’t know, like “compressions” (apparently, it’s just “compresiones”!), so I could be better prepared to speak with future groups.

DAN patches and coins awarded to scouts who came through our tent and successfully completed 2 minutes of quality CPR.

Over the next few days at the Jamboree, I believe I spoke in more Spanish than I did English! Scouts were very patient with my efforts and they enjoyed teaching me new words. It was a humbling experience to ask scouts, “¿Inglés o Español?” and see the relief and excitement on their face knowing someone could cater to their own language. This allowed us to open our tent to a much broader audience, as I was able to coach scouts from Colombia, Peru, Chile, Spain, Argentina, and Mexico.

A new friend from Peru! I was very grateful for his patience with my Spanish speaking, and he really appreciated the introduction to CPR and one-on-one time I gave to coach him. We exchanged gifts, I gave him a DAN patch and coin and he gave me a bracelet from Peru!

A fun group from Chile! They were excited to be taught in Spanish.

My new friend from Taiwan.

I had the pleasure of meeting many other people from all over the world at this event, including a young boy from Taiwan. He was so eager to learn and worked really hard to have a conversation in English while we waited for the rest of his troop to arrive. He had never seen a CPR manikin before, but after a bit of coaching, he was able to perform wonderful compressions. We also exchanged gifts, I gave him a DAN patch and coin and he gave me a scout logo that he had 3D printed!

Over the week that I was there, we had more than 1,200 scouts come through our booth. I am very thankful for this opportunity to share life-saving first aid with these intelligent youths. I hope that they continue their first aid education and seek official training, but for those who may not have this option in their home countries, the challenge gave them a great introduction to the process. While I hope no one has to experience a situation that warrants CPR, it is comforting to know these kids have a new tool in the box to help others.

As if the diving in the four-foot pool was not exciting enough, I also decided to attend a boat dive this weekend when I returned to North Carolina. This photo was taken on the wreck of The Hyde off the coast of Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, NC—it was great to see a few adult sand tiger sharks! Thanks to Aquatic Safaris for the trip.