Getting into an OceanX submersible was the kind of moment I had dreamed about since childhood. I grew up shuttling between Puerto Rico, where I was born, and Mexico, where I moved when I was two years old, always exploring the tide pools and beaches of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. When I joined the OceanX crew, I finally had the chance to go really deep, heading for an undersea shelf on the edge of a seamount.
For me, this journey was more than just a scientific expedition. It was a statement—a declaration of my presence in a world where people like me, people of color, were often overlooked and underestimated.
I’ve made the sea my life. Mostly, I focus on sharks: their ecology, behavior, and conservation.…