About Me

My name is Maria Guadalupe Rocha Castillo and I am a Latina Marine Science major with a minor in Biology at California State University, Monterey Bay. Growing up in a LatinX community, I learned the value of education very early, especially since I am a first-generation college student. However, I didn’t always have it easy because I grew up with a speaking disorder due to my hardship with learning to speak both English and Spanish fluently. I had to work twice as hard as my classmates, but I never gave up. I was fortunate enough to have had a lot of people in my life that have made an impact on who I am now. An example would be my high school teacher, who sparked my love for the sea and encouraged me to do a high school research experience with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. After doing this research opportunity and spending a week in Catalina Island learning about Marine Biology, I knew I wanted to work with the ocean by educating the next generation on conservation. I am interested in researching the fields of Marine Ecology and Ocean Conservation. My long-term goal would be to get my Ph.D. and be able to conduct research while being able to teach high schoolers.