Elise fell in love with the underwater world at an early age by visiting aquariums,watching nature documentaries, and hearing her family’s diving stories. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan where she was certified as a PADI Open Water diver in 2016. As a marine scientist, Elise has done lots of “snuba,” snorkeling, and freediving but hasn’t done any scuba diving. With this grant, she plans to jump back into scuba with the goal to use her new skills throughout her marine research career.

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