Amanda’s master’s thesis focuses on the coral species Siderastrea siderea from the West Flower Garden Bank in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. In this photo, she takes a tissue sample from a specimen under a NOAA sanctuary research permit. (Image credit: Courtesy of Amanda Croteau under NOAA Permit #FGBNMS-2023-007)
My name is Amanda Nichole Croteau, and I am a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen and marine scientist living in Sacramento, California. Despite growing up in the city, I fell in love with marine science through an undergraduate oceanography class at California State University (CSU), Sacramento. I’ve since committed myself to be as involved in the ocean as possible. Through this article, I share my journey as an Indigenous scientist and the experiences that have shaped who I am today and my goals as a NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar: sharing my love for ocean sciences with the community while studying coral geochemistry. I would not be here today without the love and sacrifice of my family.