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Hi. I'm Larry Allen.
I'm the Chairman of Biology and
one of the marine biologists
on staff, and have
been for quite a while.
I am a fish guy, I love fish.
I do everything to
study fish that I can.
And one of the great experiences
that I have as a professor here
at Cal State Northridge
over the years is, teaching,
is part of our unique marine
biology semester at Catalina.
It is a semester that is total
immersion for the students,
15 weeks are spent
at Catalina Island
at the Wrigley Marine
Science Center,
taking three upper division
courses in the marine sciences,
coupled with a research
project that is worked
on throughout the semester and
finished up the last three weeks
of the semester, just
before Christmas.
We've been running this
program at Cal State Northridge
since 1998, and we have
had over 200 students come
through this semester
over the years.
And they've been
extremely successful.
They have moved on
to graduate programs,
and some of them have even wound
up with PhDs in marine sciences.
We're very, very
proud of the success
that these students
have been able to have,
spring-boarding off with this
incredible 15 week experience.
The semester itself is
very field-oriented,
as you might expect.
You will be getting wet,
you will be in the water.
Snorkeling is mandatory,
although scuba is
permitted, it is not required.
But scuba diving
can be accommodated
if the proper dive course is
taken before the semester.
We spend a lot of
time in the mud.
We travel throughout the
island, sampling virtually all
of the habitats that are
available on the island.
In addition to that, we have a
large small boat fleet out there
for moving around the
island and snorkeling.
We also have a large
research vessel.
The RV, Yellowfin, which is
brought out to the island,
it's part of the Ocean
Studies Institute,
which sponsors this
Catalina semester.
And we will take it around the
island and do all the sampling
that we normally do in
marine biological activities.
We also train our
students extremely well
in the field sampling arena,
and this is culminated really
in their research
projects, that they complete.
And one of the last things we
do is they give presentations,
all of these students, to
the faculty and anybody else
that wants to come
out to the island.
Okay, the experience for the
students is an incredible one.
It's a life-changing one,
based on what the students have
been telling us over the years.
They develop their
own culture out there.
They live on the island and they
get to know each other so well
that they form lifetime
friendships.
For me, as a professor, the
times that I've spent teaching
out there in this total
immersion environment have been
the most satisfying
teaching experiences
that I've ever had in my life.
And it's a program that
we're extremely proud of.
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