Ever\u202fsince she was a young girl, Zola Roper loved swimming and science. As a child she recalls participating in\u202fthe\u202fVirgin Islands Environmental Resource Station\u202f(VIERS)\u202fsummer\u202fcamp on\u202fLameshur\u202fBay in\u202fSt. John, but it was not until she\u202ftook a marine biology class\u202fat\u202fCharlotte Amalie High School\u202fthat she\u202frealized how she could combine her two interests into a career.\u202fOne of the top ten students in her graduating class of 2012,\u202fRoper had\u202fmany options for\u202fcollege. She ultimately\u202fchose\u202fto attend\u202fthe University of the Virgin Islands (UVI)\u202fbecause of its renowned marine biology program and a scholarship offer.\u202fAn added bonus,\u202fnoted\u202fRoper,\u202fwas\u202fbeing\u202fnear the\u202focean.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUVI was also close to home which made it a really easy transition for me,\u201d said Roper. The decision turned out to be a good one for Roper who, throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, took advantage of opportunities that also allowed her to travel abroad, gain valuable work experience and conduct her own research.\u202f \u201cMy advisors supported my decisions and helped to drive my interest in research,\u201d said Roper.\u202fThis led her to get involved in research on island as well as participate in programs at Savannah State University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, and the Bridge to PhD program at Penn State University.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n “If you are interested in STEM, give UVI a chance.” <\/p>Zola Roper<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n After graduating with a\u202fBachelor of Science\u202fin\u202fMarine\u202fScience in 2017, Roper entered the\u202fUVI\u202fMarine\u202fand\u202fEnvironmental\u202fScience\u202fMaster\u2019s program\u202fright away.\u202fDespite the disruption of\u202fHurricanes\u202fIrma and Maria followed by the COVID-19\u202fpandemic, Roper completed the program on schedule.\u202fFor her master\u2019s thesis\u202fentitled\u202f”Spatial and temporal trends in marine debris from a territory-wide, citizen science-collected dataset (1988-2016) in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”\u202fRoper\u202fanalyzed\u202fclose to\u202f30 years of data collected by community volunteers\u202fduring coastal cleanups\u202fin the Virgin Islands.\u202fShe looked at the differences between land-based and marine-based debris\u202fcollection, density of debris found at different sites and on different islands,\u202fas well as different collection practices.\u202fAmong other findings, her analysis\u202frevealed\u202fthat plastic bottles, glass bottles and bottle caps were the\u202fitems\u202fmost\u202ffound\u202fduring clean ups.\u202fRoper explained that while the Virgin Islands has legislation in place for plastic bags, for example, there is currently no legislation related to the use and disposal of plastic and glass bottles.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes,\u202fRoper\u2019s\u202fmaster\u2019s thesis advisor and\u202fUVI\u202fResearch Assistant Professor of Watershed Ecology\u202fexpounded, \u201cAll of that data had never been looked at in a comprehensive way.\u202fZola\u2019s\u202fwork is\u202freally\u202fimportant because it can help to inform legislation in the Virgin Islands to prevent marine debris.\u201d In fact, information from her research is\u202fnow\u202fbeing incorporated into the USVI Marine Debris Action Plan that UVI scientists including Grimes, Roper and others, along with members from local and federal environmental agencies are developing to better inform policies and legislation.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roper\u2019s research has the potential to make a difference in the Virgin Islands by reducing the threat of garbage to marine life and maintaining clean shores for everyone to enjoy. In addition, her\u202fmarine education and\u202foutreach\u202fwork allows her to make an impact on Virgin Islands\u2019 students. Before finishing her master\u2019s degree, Dr. Grimes encouraged Roper to apply for the Seas Island Action Alliance Workforce Fellowship, a work\/study\u202fprogram funded by the National Science Foundation through the Center for Marine Science at UVI. Roper was awarded the fellowship which allows her to receive a salary for her outreach work with schools while also affording her time to pursue her research activities. In a recent effort, Roper and her colleagues distributed more than 1000 water testing kits to teachers at local schools so students could learn about water\u202ffiltration and test their own cistern or public water. Roper made virtual presentations to classrooms\u202fand\u202fcollected the information from students for analysis. \u201cI am happy to be a part of this work and I see how teachers appreciate it,\u201d said Roper. \u201cI also enjoy talking with students about what\u2019s happening at UVI with research and about the many great minds behind the research.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roper is among those great minds, according to Dr. Grimes.\u202f\u201cHer commitment to education is outstanding,\u201d said Dr. Grimes.\u202f\u201cHer enthusiasm to give back to the community is inspiring to me. It\u2019s\u202fbeen\u202famazing to see her come into her own, to see her growth and how UVI has been able to support that.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n As for Roper, she is enjoying her\u202foutreach work as well\u202fas\u202fbeing a core team member of the Marine Debris Action Group, a committee of 77 stakeholders from the VI community working to combat marine debris in the Territory. She\u202fis\u202falso\u202finterested in being an advocate for underrepresented minorities in her field. Her advice to young students:\u202f\u201cIf you are interested in STEM, give UVI a chance. I feel very fortunate to be exposed to all the great research opportunities and friendships\u202fI have made\u202fhere at UVI.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ever\u202fsince she was a young girl, Zola Roper loved swimming and science. As a child she recalls participating in\u202fthe\u202fVirgin Islands Environmental Resource Station\u202f(VIERS)\u202fsummer\u202fcamp on\u202fLameshur\u202fBay in\u202fSt. John, but it was not until she\u202ftook a marine biology class\u202fat\u202fCharlotte Amalie High School\u202fthat she\u202frealized how she could combine her two interests into a career.\u202fOne of the top ten students in her graduating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}