Nowadays, when people ask CarolAnne Black (B.Sc.2007) what she does she says “I write ocean stories.” She professes “I have my dream job as a contract ocean science writer. It means I get to be creative and interview researchers, keeping up with the cool stuff happening in the field. I found it’s important to realize what a job looks like day-to-day, because that will determine much of how you live your life.”
It’s an interesting tale of how CarolAnne went from physics student to writing about oceans. She continues, ”After Waterloo, working in the Appalachian Mountains for $6.15 per hour with a physics degree, and taking other more mundane jobs, my vague notion of wanting to attend graduate school in physics and study something I could see and touch turned several years later into a masters program in physical oceanography at Dalhousie University. At grad school I finally let myself indulge in my love of writing, producing science articles for the school newspaper and taking an ocean science policy internship in Ottawa for six months. The fundamental thing I learned by graduation was that I didn’t want to be an oceanographer. My partner and I then spent 7 months cycling through 12 European countries, taking the over 7,000 km to craft a plan for our life together. I finally allowed myself to believe I might make a career from writing, and that's all it really took. Since landing in Ottawa five years ago, I've written a children’s novel through a WWF Canada microgrant, called Oli’s Ocean Adventures, and I've produced tons of articles for ocean tech and research institutes.”
When recollecting her time at Waterloo, CarolAnne notes:” The best place on campus was the undergraduate study room in the physics building. Most of us spent the majority of our time there, working on assignments late into the night or starting early in the morning. The room was never empty. It was a bright space with high ceilings and large sturdy wooden tables to spread our notes out on, and a wall of windows. I hope it’s still there. Near the end of my degree it was cut in half - a wall put up, changing the dynamic of the space. Physics was a microcosm – a small community with amazingly intimate classes tucked in a big university that offered freeing anonymity and tons to do.”
When asked about her favorite instructor, CarolAnne replies that it was “Tan Dinh. He taught most of the lab classes, so I spent tons of hours working hands-on with Tan. More importantly, his office door was always open and he always greeted me warmly, no matter how many times I wanted more help. “
Finally, after all her experiences, CarolAnne has advice for young physics students just starting out
"Concepts are more important than details. Physics can be so packed full of math, it's easy to get lost in the weeds. Few people are extraordinary at math. However, lots of those people take physics. Regardless, take physics if you are interested. Stand up for yourself and get the help you need. Do what you need to do to learn what you want – it's your education.”
