Minor Provides New Educational Opportunities in Ocean Science

The long-standing relationship between Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Colby College recently took a step forward with the creation of a marine science minor that brings together Colby’s enthusiastic students and strong academics with Bigelow Laboratory’s world-class experiential learning programs and research facilities.

“I hope students come out of this seeing how the ocean connects to life in a lot of different ways,” said Senior Research Scientist and Vice President for Education Ben Twining. “In the classic liberal arts fashion, it’s designed to pique their interest and give them a solid grounding so they can go deeper if they choose too.”

The marine science minor, housed within Colby’s Department of Environmental Studies, was approved by faculty in December 2024. The first cohort graduated last year. Minors must take Principles of Oceanography, an intensive “Jan Plan” course that includes a week at Bigelow Laboratory, as well as four electives from across Earth sciences, chemistry, biology, or environmental studies. Alternatively, they can take one elective and participate in Bigelow Laboratory’s Sea Change Semester. The 14-week residential program, accredited by Colby but open to any undergraduate student, takes place each fall and incorporates classes, independent research, and fieldwork.

The goal, Twining says, is to expose students to multidisciplinary perspectives — from the fundamentals of marine biology to the applications of climate science. The other priority is hands-on ocean science experience, so all students are required to spend some time immersed in the Bigelow Laboratory research community.

“Institutionally, this helps create a regular schedule of ocean-related courses and a regular demand for those courses that Colby, the students, and our researchers can all rely on,” Twining said. “For students, my hope is that we can build community around this and help connect them with new opportunities.”

Just one year in, those hopes appear to be materializing.

“Throughout my time at Bigelow, I learned so much about what the day-to-day life of a researcher looks like,” said Jane Marlott, a sophomore biology major who took the Jan Plan course last month. “I really enjoyed being able to see the data through, from being collected with my own hands to being analyzed and put into a lab report.”

“I wouldn’t have changed a thing — though maybe I’d pack more wool socks next time!” she added jokingly.

That kind of broad introduction to ocean research is exactly what Karen Stamieszkin, a senior research scientist and instructor of the Jan Plan course, is going for.

Principles of Ocean Science is a four-week course, including the week at Bigelow Laboratory, during which students participate in lab activities and two research cruises. Reflecting the breadth of the minor as a whole, the Jan Plan course gives students a foundation in data science, physics, geology, chemistry, and biology from an oceanography perspective — and then encourages them to apply those basic principles to complex issues from ecosystem restoration to fisheries management.

“We’re teaching them the foundations, but also focused heavily on showing them what data is out there and giving them the skills to be able to use that data to ask real questions about the marine environment,” Stamieszkin said.

Last month was Stamieszkin’s fourth time teaching Principles of Ocean Science, but her second teaching it as a Jan Plan intensive rather than a semester course. The change was made, she says, to allow for the residential experience.

“The immersive week at Bigelow provides a great introduction for Colby students to our institution and all the opportunities they have access to as part of the Bigelow-Colby collaboration,” Stamieszkin said.

That’s exactly what happened for sophomore environmental science majors Gael Ortiz Ramirez and Isabelle ‘Izzy’ Kanefsky. Both were introduced to Bigelow Laboratory on a field trip for an environmental systems chemistry class as freshmen. That inspired them to enroll in Jan Plan last winter. Now, both are planning to return to Bigelow Laboratory this fall for Sea Change Semester and have already registered as marine science minors.

“Having access to Bigelow and courses in marine science is incredibly valuable because it gives us the chance to have unique research-driven experiences and learning,” Ortiz Ramirez said. “Being able to take these opportunities has helped me better understand potential career paths in ocean science and has been a significant part of my academic experience at Colby.”

“Even though Jan Plan was brief, being in the lab reminded me of how much I enjoy hands-on scientific work and just the general lab experience,” added Kanefsky, who is also majoring in Jewish studies. “As a Colby student, having access to learning opportunities through Bigelow and the marine science minor allows me to dive deeply into my interests, feel more connected to the ocean, and experience Maine itself almost as a lab.”

Ortiz Ramirez’s and Kanefsky’s experience of participating in multiple Bigelow Laboratory programs is exactly what the institute’s education programs are designed for — and what Twining hopes the minor will encourage more students to do.

“Students have lots of demands on their attention, so we’ve taken all the opportunities that are there and packaged it into a single thing that gives them a meaningful understanding of marine science,” he said. “Our hope is that the minor makes them aware of — and excited about — these opportunities and helps inspire the next generation of ocean leaders.”

Photos Captions

Photo 1: Participants in the Jan Plan course in 2026, including Cam Rogers (far left), Patria 'Pat' Cabrera (front), and Jane Marlott (second from right), are shown during a research cruise with Bigelow Laboratory visible behind them.

Photo 2: Rogers, a sophomore majoring in biochemistry and environmental science, is not a minor but plans to join Sea Change Semester this fall. He says the week at Bigelow Laboratory for Jan Planprovided invaluable early experience with lab-based research and made him "even more excited" about the program this fall.

Photo 3: Rogers (right) and Marlott (left) use microscopes during last month's Jan Plan course.

Photo 4: Participants in the Jan Plan course in 2025, including Gael Ortiz Ramirez (second from left) and Izzy Kanefsky (second from right) pose aboard the R/V Bowditch during one of their research cruises.

Photo 5: Cabrera, a junior majoring in environmental science and geology with an interest in marine conservation, chose Colby in part because of the opportunities with Bigelow Laboratory. She says the new minor and last month's Jan Plan course was a "particularly special" way to get the hands-on experience she was looking for.