{"id":23891,"date":"2025-05-30T15:38:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/?p=23891"},"modified":"2026-03-06T19:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T19:17:50","slug":"from-classroom-to-conference-uf-hosts-inaugural-guardians-of-the-gulf-youth-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/30\/from-classroom-to-conference-uf-hosts-inaugural-guardians-of-the-gulf-youth-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"From Classroom to Conference: UF Hosts Inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||4px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

Students from Cedar Key School stepped into marine scientists’ shoes at the University of Florida\u2019s inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium on March 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

Spearheaded by the College of Education in partnership with the UF Marine Animal Rescue Program<\/a> and Cedar Key Dolphin Project<\/a>, the symposium was part of the Guardians of the Gulf science curriculum currently implemented in two Levy County schools. The program, funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine\u2019s Gulf Research Program<\/a>, taught students how to analyze and interpret marine science data to develop their own research projects.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the school year, the eighth and ninth grade students explored stranding data collection methods, learned to analyze and interpret marine science data and developed original research projects based on their findings.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThey were able to explore the research with actual stranding data,\u201d said Suzanna Mickey,<\/a> co-chair of the symposium and stranding and rescue Biologist at UF Marine Animal Rescue. \u201cThey blew me away with how amazing their work was, given that they’ve never messed with a large data set. They turned their findings into a legitimate scientific poster.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The symposium offered students the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting, engaging with industry professionals. Attendees included College of Education and UF Marine Science Rescue faculty, professionals in state and federal levels of wildlife management, Save the Manatee Club, Sea Grant, commercial fishermen, the Guy Harvey Foundation, law enforcement and many other researchers in the field.<\/p>\n

The students presented their findings to judges as well as the attendees of the symposium. Judges provided feedback on each student\u2019s work and selected top projects to be honored during the closing awards presentation.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWatching the students shine during their poster sessions was definitely a really cool experience,\u201d Mickey said. \u201cThe data exploration and critical thinking was great. Some of them seemed reluctant in a classroom, but then they were entirely different people when it came to presenting, and that was really, really fun to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Lab-Photo.jpg” alt=”Middle school students working in a marine lab setting” title_text=”Lab Photo” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_divider color=”#CC4927″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-8px||-10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”0.6em” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

Middle school students conducting experiments at the Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

In addition to the poster session, students and attendees participated in discussions with industry professionals as well as a career show and tell, which consisted of students exploring professional career opportunities in marine biology, research and conservation. The young marine scientists also had the opportunity to visit and speak with researchers in microbiology labs at UF.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cStudents loved the career show and tell, as it exposed them to local conservation-related careers,\u201d said Julie Brown, Ph.D.<\/a>, co-chair of the symposium and associate professor at the UF College of Education. \u201cStudents repeatedly reported how much they learned about marine science and marine science-related careers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The symposium marked the first of its kind, kickstarting an annual tradition.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI think this experience showed [students] how to come prepared for a professional meeting or some sort of conference. They really took ownership of their work, which was amazing. \u201d Mickey said. \u201cI’m excited to see how it evolves into the second iteration.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The 2025 Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium created a place of community by building a professional environment for students\u2019 marine science research to shine.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy personal favorite memory was watching the students present their research and engage with the marine science community in authentic and meaningful ways,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThey were truly becoming a part of the marine science community of practice through their words and actions. It was beautiful.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Guardians-of-the-Gulf-2025-Group.jpg” title_text=”Guardians of the Gulf 2025-Group” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”23904,23903,23902,23901,23906,23905,23908,23907,23912,23910,23916,23921,23923,23909,23911,23913,23920,23915,23914,23922,23917,23918,23919″ show_title_and_caption=”off” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” pagination_text_color=”#1C2F3D” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Florida’s inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium allowed students from Cedar Key School to present their marine science research projects to industry professionals, judges, and peers, providing them with a professional environment to showcase their work. The symposium marked the first of its kind and aimed to build a community of young marine scientists, with students expressing enthusiasm for their experience and gaining valuable insights into marine science-related careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grants-research"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Classroom to Conference: UF Hosts Inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/30\/from-classroom-to-conference-uf-hosts-inaugural-guardians-of-the-gulf-youth-symposium\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Classroom to Conference: UF Hosts Inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The University of Florida's inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium allowed students from Cedar Key School to present their marine science research projects to industry professionals, judges, and peers, providing them with a professional environment to showcase their work. 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