Nicole Blackson

nblackson@rbmaritime.org

Biology I Honors

Chemistry I Honors

Marine Science I

I graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology in 2002. I have worked as a marine biologist doing Sea Turtle research for the past seven years. Prior to doing Sea Turtle work, I interned for the Biology department at FAU and also Environmental Resources Management. At RBMA, I bring to the classroom my knowledge of science through hands-on classes and real world situations. In all classes that I instruct, Biology I Honors, Chemistry I Honors, and Marine Science, I try to prepare students for college with challenging and stimulating material as well as the use of technology. I look forward to introducing new and exciting discoveries in science as well as encouraging my students to be self-motivated, critical thinkers.

In addition to my classes, I sponsor the Environmental Club. During club time I stress the importance of current hot topics including recycling and alternative energy sources. As a club, we have designed and built a solar powered fountain that welcomes students and guests to the school.

I have worked on building a sense of community in the school by planning school wide projects. These include the school wide clean-up of Munyon Island and the Solar Cook- Off. Both of these fun projects helped the students learn about taking care of the environment. We, as a school, have adopted the Munyon Island, through the Solid Waste Authority, and have agreed to look after it for the next two years. I have also encouraged participation in other contests, one of which was the America's Greenest School campaign where one of our students was a finalist.

I am starting a junior Marine Biologist program where select students will be able to get hands on training doing Sea Turtle research. Students will be exposed to potential career choices and leave school with the confidence and experience they need to go onto college and pursue a career in the field of Marine Biology.