Katie is a second-year Ph.D. student at Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She graduated with her MSc in marine science with distinction from the University of Otago in 2022 and is now studying the effects of climatechange-related stressors on the growth, survival and behaviour of pāua (Haliotis iris), an abalone species with huge cultural and fishery significance. She has trained to PADI rescue level with Dive Wellington and plans to use this grant to achieve her DiveMaster with specific application to scientific training, so that she can incorporate scuba diving into future research.