Nicole graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Creative Arts from Siena College in 2018, and graduated with an M.P.S. in Marine Conservation from the University of Miami in December 2019. During her undergraduate studies, Nicole had the opportunity to study the tropical marine ecosystems of South Caicos, Turks and Caicos, and participated in outreach to teach local groups the importance of their native ecosystems. This inspired her goal of going into the marine outreach, education, and communication field. She believes that sparking interest and educating younger generations is the first step towards changing our impact on Earth. Nicole plans on using this grant to advance her scuba training to Rescue Diver and Nitrox, allowing her to assist in further educating the public of the importance of marine conservation.