Growing up in San Diego I spent more time in water than on land, fueling my passions for kelp forest ecology and marine mammalogy. As a first generation college student, my journey in academia began at the University of California Santa Barbara. After graduating in 2022, I continued work at UCSB as a scientific diver for the Caselle lab. Here I assisted with research projects such as PISCO, CCFRP, and intertidal zone surveys– where I fell in love with kelp forest ecology and diving. This led me to joining the Hughes lab, where I recently completed my Master of Science in Biology. I assisted with bull kelp restoration along Northern California by culturing kelp at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, outplanting, and surveying along the way. My thesis explored the ecological impact of purple urchin removals on competing herbivores, Tegula snails. I found that purple urchin removals may impact large Tegula snails, and I recommend including Tegula snails in all kelp monitoring efforts moving forward. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about my research, or job opportunities at: hascallem@gmail.com