Kaycee is from New Jersey and graduated with a B.S. in marine science/biological oceanography from Rutgers University in 2010. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Oceanography from Rutgers. The ocean has always been her passion, ever since she first vacationed at the Jersey shore. While an undergraduate at Rutgers, she had several opportunities to gain experience: interning with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection bureau of freshwater and biological monitoring, working with the gliders and CODAR in the Coastal Ocean Observation Lab, conducting her Honors thesis on planktivorous coral reef fish behavior in relation to prey abundance and tidal state with Operation Wallacea in the Wakatobi region of Indonesia, and cruising down the West Antarctic Peninsula studying trace metals and phytoplankton ecology. She fell in love with Antarctic research and worked for Rutgers for two years as a technician for Oscar Schofield as part of the Long Term Ecological Research project at Palmer Station. After this she decided to work her way up the food chain from phytoplankton to fish, yet still incorporating the use of cutting edge technology and autonomous underwater vehicles.