Marine Conservation Biology
Master of Science

“Pursuing marine biology has been the best decision I have ever made.”

Tami M.

Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture

Read Tami’s Full Story

Tami M.

Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture

Unity opens doors to possibility, taking this student from online classes to global internships in South Africa and Iceland.

At seven years old, Tami stood at the shoreline staring out at the ocean, captivated by something she could not yet name. The feeling stayed with her, even as life led in a different direction.

For more than a decade, she built a stable career as a dental hygienist while raising her son as a single mother. When her son turned 16, the physical strain of her career combined with emotional burnout and a workplace injury during the COVID-19 pandemic brought her to a crossroads. Facing uncertainty, Tami began asking what she truly wanted from her life. The answer led her back to the sea.

 

“At age 42, I finally decided it was time to follow the dream I had carried since childhood,” Tami says. “Pursuing marine biology has been the best decision I have ever made.”

Living in western New York, Tami knew traditional marine biology programs were not an option. Relocating was not realistic and her responsibilities as a parent came first. Unity allowed her to pursue a BS in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture without uprooting her life.

Flexibility brought her to Unity. Support is what made her stay.

“What ultimately set Unity apart was that it offered far more than just flexibility,” she explains. “Free tutoring, consistent support from advisors and instructors, and a strong sense of community made me feel seen. Even online, I felt like I belonged.”

Her education quickly extended beyond the screen. Through Unity’s job and internship services, Tami secured hands-on internships in South Africa and Iceland. Being immersed in unfamiliar environments pushed her out of her comfort zone and taught her to adapt quickly, communicate across cultures, and solve problems in real time.

In South Africa, she gained confidence through field-based marine work that strengthened her commitment to conservation. In Iceland, she faced intellectual and personal challenges that built independence and a global perspective on environmental issues. Together, these internships shaped her growth as both a scientist and a person.

Unity’s coursework reflected that same practical focus. Assignments centered on real conservation challenges, science communication, and applied decision making. The skills translated quickly into professional success. Through Handshake, Unity’s career platform, Tami recently accepted a role as a STEM Educator and Coral Restoration Technician at Florida Sea Base in Summerland Key, Florida. In the coral nursery, she monitors water quality using a YSI multi-parameter device and batch feeds seven coral species to support their growth before transplanting them back onto natural reefs.

While the career transition is meaningful, Tami measures success most deeply through her role as a mother. Now continuing into Unity’s Marine Conservation Biology graduate program, she hopes her journey shows her son that growth never has an expiration date.

“I want him to see that challenges don’t set limits,” she says. “It is possible to rebuild and reinvent yourself at any stage of life. Continuing my education is a way to model resilience, curiosity, and determination.”

Her academic interests now focus on the behavioral ecology of cownose stingrays and their role in coastal ecosystems. Long term, she hopes to combine research, teaching, and mentorship, and one day return to Unity as an instructor to support other nontraditional students pursuing ambitious goals alongside real-world responsibilities.

For Tami, Unity did more than offer an degree. It reconnected her with a part of herself that had been waiting since childhood.

The dream you set aside does not disappear. It waits. Explore Unity’s flexible online programs and discover what is possible at any stage.

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“My time at Unity has broadened my knowledge and expertise to work on real-life scenarios that I can replicate in the field.”

Jade M.

Master of Science in Marine Conservation Biology

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Jade M.

Master of Science in Marine Conservation Biology

An emergency veterinary technician pursuing her second master’s degree, Jade is building toward a career as a marine mammal veterinarian and conservationist — one course at a time.

Some people know exactly where they’re headed. They just need the right tools to get there.

For Jade, the destination has always been clear: marine mammal veterinarian and conservationist. She’s built the path there deliberately, one credential and one experience at a time. By day, she works in emergency veterinary medicine. By night, she takes on graduate coursework, steadily closing the distance to the career she’s wanted all along.

This is Jade’s second master’s degree from Unity Environmental University. That alone says something.

“I would highly recommend Unity to anyone who is passionate about animals or conservation,” she says. “This is the best place to learn.”

The decision to return for a second master’s wasn’t a casual one. It was about going deeper: expanding a knowledge base already sharpened by three years in emergency veterinary medicine and applying it to the real-world scenarios that await in the field.

“The courses I have taken will better prepare me for my future as a marine mammal veterinarian and conservationist,” she says. “My time at Unity has broadened my knowledge and expertise to work on real-life scenarios that I can replicate in the field.”

That dual foundation of clinical experience and academic rigor, is exactly the combination veterinary school demands. Every shift in the emergency clinic reinforces what the coursework teaches. Every course reframes what happens on the floor of a veterinary hospital. The two worlds feed each other.

Through it all, Unity’s professors have shown up consistently. Patient on the hard days. Motivating on the ones that feel impossible. For someone balancing a demanding career in emergency medicine with graduate-level study, that kind of support isn’t a small thing, it’s what makes continuing feel possible.

Veterinary school is next. And when that chapter begins, it will open with a foundation few applicants can match: hands-on clinical experience, two graduate degrees, and a body of knowledge built around the species and ecosystems that matter most.

To anyone considering taking that first step, the advice is simple and hard-earned.

“Don’t forget your reason why,” Jade says. “It’s a lot of work in a short amount of time and it can be difficult to see the end goal. Never forget your reason.”

Every expert started somewhere. Explore Unity’s flexible online programs and take your next step toward making a difference.

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