May 5th, 2009
Dr. Imogen Hoyle, 29, director of Shark Behavior and Conservation program for Broadreach/Academic Treks summer program for teens, working in Fiji in 2009
What I do:
I educate the youth of today about the current state of the oceans, their 
inhabitants, and what role ‘we’ collectively play in that equation. I teach them about the direct and indirect impact we have on environments we hardly ever see, and how we can change our lives slightly to have a positive effect instead of a negative one. The locations of these lessons are spread throughout the world. My next trip is to Fiji to teach undergraduate (university) students about the importance of shark conservation and behavior, and how we can help to save them. After that I head to the Caribbean to teach about tropical marine biology, artificial reefs and marine parks, whilst sailing around the Caribbean islands. Along with set topics, many of the courses I teach have the underlying message of how to be an environmental steward, and therefore raise the awareness of our every day actions on our environments.
How it helps:
We strongly believe that the future of the planet lies in the hands of the youth. We aim to educate them so they are aware of what we have done to the world, and how they can change our previous mistakes to help to correct them. We believe that by raising the awareness of young people to not only what we currently have in this world, but what we can still lose, it opens their minds. They in turn become more motivated to try to find those small changes in their lives they can do to create the necessary movement that will positively change the world we live in.
How I got here:
When I was very young, I developed a passion for the ocean and everything in it due to the fact that my family and I lived on a very remote island in the middle of the South Atlan
tic Ocean called St Helena. The fact that all I could see surrounding us was the ocean, it played a big part in my childhood. (Also, there was no television signal to the island!)
When I returned to the UK I focused on being a marine biologist, and ended up studying it at Plymouth University, UK. For my undergraduate dissertation I went to South Africa to study the behavior of Great White Sharks. I then furthered my career by completing a Masters of Research back at Plymouth University. I was lucky enough to be offered a position working at London Aquarium, this was mainly due to the fact that I not only volunteered at Plymouth Aquarium when I was at University, but I also had my PADI Divemaster qualification.
I went on to be a scientific researcher working at Plymouth University, studying heavy metals in our aquatic environment and how they affect the organisms that live there. However, I decided that I wanted to carry on with my education, and I was successful in gaining a PhD from Bristol University (UK) after researching the positive and negative aspects of fish farming. I then ended up in the job I am currently in! I think that many experiences in my youth led up to my current career choice, namely my summers spent teaching sailing to young children, as well as diving and travelling. By keeping your mind open and never turning down any opportunities that are offered to you, I find that you never know where you are going to end up.
Where I’m going:
We are aiming to branch out into running not only summer and semester long programs, but to also to set up our own research and education field stations all over the world. With the hope of influencing the students that come to the bases in a positive way, and also helping the areas where we set up the field stations by educating the local population.
How I’m doing:
I’m afraid that this type of job will never make you a ‘millionaire’ in the monetary sense. You will be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams in terms of the young lives that you change, the places you visit, and the life experience you are able to ‘bank’. The actual salary is enough to live on, but that always depends on where in the world you are….. ($35,000 – $50,000)
