Katy McGinnis has fashioned a career out of her passion for the ocean, and she is doing something she truly enjoys. Working in the scientific field has allowed her to travel to exotic locales like the Florida Keys and far-flung regions of Alaska.

The NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow, home port for McGinnis, a wage marine, is docked at the Newport Naval Shipyard. This year, the ship was voted the greatest ship in the whole NOAA fleet across the United States.

With 15 NOAA research vessels in operation, pandemic disrupted their operations. The quarantine bubbles had to be longer than usual, according to McGinnis, so they were out at sea for 38 days rather of the usual 30 days. Despite the challenges, she thought the crew did a fantastic job.

To that end, McGinnis, who holds an environmental science degree with an emphasis on marine biology, says her duties as a senior survey technician on board the ship include maintaining the ship’s scientific equipment, helping with side operations, overseeing the ship’s laboratories, and providing assistance to scientists as needed.

Rocky Hill Country Day School grad McGinnis came into a lab in Narragansett, Rhode Island, on a rainy day and ran across a world-renowned plankton scientist she had never met before.

“He encouraged me to join him on a 22-day cruise. In order to conduct study on plankton and water quality, I boarded the Delaware Que. It captivated me completely. And so on to college, where I studied marine biology with a concentration in environmental science “she remarked.

A non-profit agency in the Florida Keys hired her when she graduated from college to teach children about seagrass and mangroves.

She was able to assist in seagrass surveys, coral surveys, and fish counts while in Florida, where she learnt how important the ecology and the environment are.

She claimed that humans can have a significant impact on the ecosystem.

There has been a lot of rehabilitation for coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass because of the degradation caused by humans, she explained.

McGinnis saw a survey technician position while working in Key Largo and applied for it. So she packed up her things, flew to Alaska, and arrived at Dutch Harbor, an isolated island in Alaska’s Aleutian Chain, to begin her new work.

After that, she and her shipmates spent a season chugging out to the Bearing Sea to study pollock. In the waters off of Kodiak Island, an unique bear species known as the Kodiak bears, they were stationed. In Alaska, seeing the Kodiak bears was one of her most memorable experiences.

She worked in a two-person department in Alaska for 30 days at a stretch, 12 hours a day, for 30 days straight. Because they had opposing work schedules, she had to develop a strong sense of self-motivation.

The Mystic Aquarium hosts a special education STEM class at Pellow Elementary School in Mystic, Connecticut.

The only time McGinnis was not at sea was when she went trekking or to the zoo, where she enjoyed picking blueberries and salmonberries from the wild.

“Many whales and seals were seen. On our free time, we would go fishing for salmon and do mooring buoys, pollock studies, and mid-water trawls, among other things “said she,

McGinnis was thrilled to learn about an opportunity in Newport.

When I realized that I could return to my hometown every time we came home, and that my parents and their dog were there, and that my boyfriend was there, and that my childhood friends were still in the area, or come home from the holidays, so it is awesome that I can see people way more often now than I have in several years, I decided to leave Alaska.”

Traveling and leaving her village has shown her how different the world is, but it is all about the same thing: community.

“Every time I have traveled, I have always had a great time and gained a new perspective on the world around me. When you notice the variations, you realize how unique your home is “said she,

McGinnis enjoys coming to the Improv and hanging around in downtown Newport when she is not at sea. She also likes to take vacations and see new places.

As a precious resource, the ocean needs to be safeguarded. As McGinnis said, 70% of the world’s population relies on fish as a primary source of protein, and the seafood industry is a major source of employment.

For the sake of future sustenance, she argues that we must avoid further depleting the ocean.

There are volunteer roles available on the ship for community members aged 18 and over, according to McGinnis. It is a wonderful idea to get involved with organizations like Save the Bay if you are a younger student, she said.