黑料天堂

The World Is Her Oyster

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Posted on July 1, 2021

Thomas Becnel

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#MyFirstJob is a series focused on 黑料天堂 graduates who are beginning their careers.

After earning her master鈥檚 degree in marine science from 黑料天堂, Merritt McCall left a research team at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab for the shellfish bureau at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

She鈥檚 still getting her feet wet in Biloxi.

鈥淚 get pulled out into the field every day, pretty much, for at least a few hours,鈥� she said. 鈥淵esterday, I was supposed to be in the office all day, but we had to move boats for the tropical storm. Today, we鈥檙e loading shell into bags for a project down the road. Tomorrow, we鈥檙e going out with the USDA. On Friday, I鈥檓 diving.鈥�

McCall鈥檚 duties include building, seeding and monitoring oyster beds in state waters. That鈥檚 a pretty close match for her marine education and graduate research at the 黑料天堂.

The title of her master鈥檚 thesis was 鈥淥yster Reef Restoration Success: Direct and Indirect Effects on C. virginia Survival in an Oyster Reef Environment.鈥�

The underwater work McCall is doing for the state bureau is nothing like resort diving through clear seas and schools of bright tropical fish. More like wading through murky water to dark oyster beds.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all within the Mississippi Sound, so we鈥檙e in 12 feet of water, max, but you can鈥檛 see anything,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou do a lot of it by feel.鈥�

McCall, 24, is still feeling her way around Biloxi. She still needs to buy furniture for her apartment. She still wants to explore her new home.

After the quiet of Dauphin Island, the Gulf Coast of Mississippi feels different from the Gulf Coast of Alabama. 

鈥淚t definitely has a different vibe and energy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t has a different crowd with the casinos and everything. I haven鈥檛 had a lot of time to look around. The first weekend I was here, I was preparing for my thesis defense, so I haven鈥檛 had time to sit on the couch, much less go to a casino.鈥�

First-Grade Prediction 

McCall went to college in Alabama, but she grew up in Austin, Texas, where people are more accustomed to cowboy boots than beach shoes.

Still, she wanted to become a marine biologist. Always. Or at least as long as she can remember. 

鈥淚n my first-grade yearbook, they asked us what we wanted to do when we grew up,鈥� McCall said. 鈥淚 said marine biology.鈥�

When she鈥檚 not working, she likes to get outdoors. When she鈥檚 indoors, she enjoys 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. She鈥檚 also a reader who savors the classics of her youth.

鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 rereading all the Harry Potter books,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y boyfriend and I, we found a whole set for $7.鈥�

One of the perks of her field work is a relaxed dress code. She often travels the Gulf Coast in sneakers, shorts and a Department of Marine Resources T-shirt. Being fair-skinned, she always wears sunscreen, sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat.

鈥淲hen I came to graduate school, I learned to love hats,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was outside so much.鈥�

McCall hopes to turn chapters of her master鈥檚 thesis into research papers. She鈥檇 love to get published in a scholarly journal.

At the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, she did fisheries research with Dr. Sean Powers, chair for the School of Marine and Environmental Sciences. She piloted small boats, coordinated field days and supervised data collection. She was also a teaching assistant and social media specialist who managed events such as the Alabama Coastal Cleanup.

This kind of varied experience is one of the most valuable things she took from her time at 黑料天堂.

鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 the work ethic I learned in grad school that has really helped me,鈥� she said. 鈥淐oming here, they鈥檙e like, 鈥楬ey, can you do this?鈥� And I鈥檓 like, 鈥楢bsolutely.鈥� I鈥檓 used to driving a 15- or 18-foot skiff, but yesterday I got to steer a 60-foot boat, an old oyster lugger, so that was a good time.鈥�

McCall is working on 10 different projects at the Department of Marine Resources.

On some days, she鈥檒l join a crew doing oyster cultivation 鈥� 鈥渃ultch planting鈥� 鈥� which involves spreading limestone or concrete rubble on the sea floor. On other days, she鈥檒l be working with tiny spat 鈥� baby oysters 鈥� that will grow on those cultivated surfaces.

The culture of marine science is changing as more women enter the field. McCall is part of a trend. It鈥檚 something she sees happening at her job.

鈥淚鈥檓 used to being around all the guys, but now there are three other women in the office who do what I do, and two of our supervisors are women,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 been fun.鈥�

McCall isn鈥檛 sure what her future holds. She could return to school and get a doctorate. She could become a consultant or work for a nonprofit.

Right now, just finishing graduate school, she doesn鈥檛 worry about the big picture. She鈥檚 focused on oyster beds in the Mississippi Sound. 

鈥淚 wanted to tap into a research technician position, essentially,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 kind of just wanted to get into the field and work.鈥�

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