Landlocked Teens Get The ‘Willys’ Teachers Puzzled At Booming Interest In Marine Sciences

Call it the Jacques Cousteau effect or the “Free Willy” phenomenon.

Call it craziness.

Lots of teenagers - especially girls - in this landlocked region aspire to be marine biologists.

Career counselors know the impact that emotional movies and exciting documentaries can have on young imaginations. Still, they are puzzled by the number of Inland Northwest students who are interested in sea science.

Said Mike Arnold of Post Falls High School, “About their junior year, we sit them down and ask: Have they even been to an ocean yet?”

But it’s that distance from the ocean that helped Post Falls junior Andrea Deaver fall in love with it.

“I think it’s more that I lived away from it, and it was a fun place to visit,” she said.

It was a dream come true for Deaver to attend an Upward Bound science program in Alaska two summers ago.

“We caught one of the lowest tides of the year. We were able to get on our gear and go out into the ocean and play with jellyfish. We got to hold things.”

Fussing in tidepools, watching adventure documentaries - those experiences plus a surge of interest in environmental protection have the University of Washington awash in students wanting to study the sea.

“The university is having a terrible problem keeping up with demand for biology classes of all kinds,” said Della Roger, academic counselor with UW’s School of Oceanography.

“More girls are taking an interest. Our undergraduate program is 57 percent female. Ten years ago, we were 30 percent female.”

UW professor Jody Deming, director of UW’s marine bio-remediation program, said eight of nine new graduate students are women.

“It’s a record, and it has been increasing over the last couple of years,” she said.

Jon Swett, who started Spokane’s marine biology Explorer post, said he always has seen more interest among girls.

Swett, a Mead High School graduate, wanted to be a marine biologist when he was growing up.

“My interest primarily stemmed from the fact that we don’t have an ocean. I’m fascinated with marine mammals - dolphins and killer whales.”

Swett took a detour into teaching high school science. He’s at East Valley High School now.

About 13 years ago, he and two teachers at Spokane’s Rogers High School helped eight kids raise money for a biology field trip to Hawaii.

Swett has led many such expeditions over the years and has helped prepare students and adults for the adventures. Before this April’s trip to Belize in Central America, he’ll teach a class on coral reefs.

Swett’s main role on the trips these days is as a professional tour guide.

Central Valley High School teacher Leanne Donley now advises the Explorer post, whose main purpose is to prepare for the spring-break trip.

“This year, we have 25 students going; there were 20 last year,” Donley said. “Probably two-thirds just want the experience. The other third really want to be marine biologists.”

When students at Coeur d’Alene High School show an interest in marine biology, counselor Cheryl Stransky gives them a reality check.

“It isn’t a very practical field. There isn’t a lot of job opportunity in it,” she said. “So I don’t especially encourage people in that area.”

Stransky notes that other science careers, especially health-related ones, can mean a lot less college time and even higher pay.

The average biologist makes $31,300 a year. Those with Ph.D.s, who often are university professors, make $40,000 to $50,000.

A career in marine science requires at least a master’s degree - and a doctorate to teach. That means eight to 10 years of advanced education.

“I think I’m ready for graduate school,” said Megan McKernan, who wants to be a researcher.

She’s a graduate of Coeur d’Alene’s Lake City High School who attends the University of Oregon.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I didn’t get serious until real recently,” she said. “I just like the ocean; I like animals a lot.”

UW’s Deming tells students they’ll need “inner excitement” to sustain them through years of graduate studies.

Competition for jobs, especially university teaching jobs, is keen.

“It’s not all adventure,” Deming cautions. “There’s a lot of hard work.”

But for Deming, a native Texan, the work has been worth it.

“I went to college with a piano scholarship. It’s a long story, but I just followed my nose to where I am today.

“I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else with my life.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo