[MUSIC PLAYING]
What happens on Shoals that's
unique is right behind me.
So this is the island classroom.
Here, you're outside all
day, and you're in the field.
You're not reading
about it in a textbook
and hearing about it
in an abstract lecture.
You're looking at it in the
hand with the professor,
in the field.
You're studying it.
You're taking it
back to the lab.
You're investigating
the details.
It really immerses
you in the subject.
Our faculty are from
all over the world,
and our students are from
all over the world, really.
And everybody's interested
in marine science
or sustainable
living and solutions.
Hermit crab,
[? Pagurus ?] acadianus.
The community out
here is really great.
Everyone on the island has
meals at the same time,
so you really see everyone three
times a day, get to know them.
You know the staff.
Everyone's really approachable
if you need help with anything.
And it's just such a
beautiful place to work.
The main thing
that I always think
I come away with from
here is it changed
the way I see the world.
And it makes me
think differently.
It instilled in me a
desire to remain curious,
to keep asking questions, and
to realise that it's always
a little more to what's
going on than you might see
on the surface.
To be surrounded by
a perfect environment
to do the work in--
like-minded students
and all of the faculty
that are sharing
the same general interest
in marine sciences--
it's otherworldly
for most students
to get that experience in a
concentrated block of time.
Time and time again, this
becomes a pivotal experience
for these students as they
go on in a career in science.
That was the summer
that I decided
I was going to
become a scientist.
And then of course,
living in the field--
as any field biologist
can tell you--
is a great experience
if you really
want to understand a system.
You experience the weather.
You experience the variation
in the behavior of animals.
You experience the
ecosystem, and you understand
it like you never
would understand it
if you even just took a
field trip into the field.
So live out here for two
weeks or the whole summer,
it's a understanding you can't
get in a classroom setting.
