Hey there! Welcome to my life. I’m a fisheries biologist in the US Virgin Islands. I’m actually just starting this role – it’s a dramatic change that has literally manifested in two months. Let me just give you some background real quick.
My name is Curby. No, that’s not my legal name, but it’s a nickname I got from 3 friends back in high school and it carried on through college. I then used it every now and then in my adult life, but not professionally. It’s the perfect nickname and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
I grew up as a military kid – traveling to all sorts of places and the family ended up settling in Virginia. From there, I went to Old Dominion University where I got my Bachelor’s degree in Biological Oceanography. Life after graduation wasn’t easy – I worked a cashier job at the marine retail giant West Marine for about 7 years until I finally got my break for a 4-month gig with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Annapolis, MD. After that, I got a job with the State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and commuted 3 hours a day for a year and a half. Finally, I decided to listen to my best friend and apply to a biological technician job in Michigan with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and I have been with them for about 4 years. During my time in the service, I took 1.25 years to complete my Masters of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences degree with the University of Florida. Now, it’s 2020 and at the beginning of this year, I had a random surprise interview and a subsequent offer for employment, which I accepted, for the Government of the Virgin Islands.
Now all I can think is HOLY SMOKES HOW DID I GET HERE?! I used to pine for the chance to become a biologist, and I spent countless hours figuring out what I could do to stand out, what I could learn from the technician position I was in at the time, and what skills can I show off that will tell my future employer, “hey! Just give me a shot, I’m a real go-getter!” Well, it finally happened and now my life in the past two months has been a whirlwind of figuring out how to move to an island in the Caribbean. Here’s a hint: it is NOT easy. I’m honestly really thankful that I don’t have as much stuff as I used to because I had to downsize even more from the amount of stuff I had (which was everything I could fit into my tiny Toyota Yaris sedan). I needed to ship my car to the island which is $$$, and I had to find a place to live (more $$$). Luckily, I achieved all of these things in the short amount of time that I had, and I’m really looking forward to living an island life in my cute little island home.
Let me just say this: If you know me, you know that I freaking love working in fisheries. If you don’t know me, well, I LOVE WORKING IN FISHERIES. My job is literally my happy place and to have a tropical island as my home, and to be out on the water, and diving… I mean, I can’t even believe how incredibly blessed I feel to have the chance to work such an amazing position and have the opportunity to grow both in my field and in my personal life (there will be a lot of “me time”). This is an exciting change in my life, and I’m excited to share it.
What will you find in this blog? Well, not my deepest, darkest secrets or anything like that. But, you will find posts about what I expected the island to be like vs. what I experience, the costs of living on an island, the wildlife, the beauty, and just general updates on my life. You may find some insight into my world to get to know me better, but most likely you’ll just find the passion and joy I get out of working in this field. Either way, I hope you enjoy reading about my time in the Virgin Islands, and I hope you enjoy the pictures as well!
That’s all for now and as they say on the island,
Welcome home!
-Curby
CURBY IN THE SEA 