My first year of research started over the summer of 2023 when I started finding what I was interested in researching by creating a mind map. I read many journal articles,  read news stories, watched videos, and did experiences such as museum visits in order to find something I was passionate about researching. I studied coral reefs, the science of introversion, geology, and climate change.  At the end of the summer, I made a presentation to summarize all the work I did over the summer.

For my first year of science research, it was my job to finalize what I was interested in researching. So, I decided I wanted to look into something to do with environmental science. After I knew what I wanted to research, I found my mentor, Dr. Emma Strand, who introduced me to eDNA. From there, I spent the whole year learning about the uses of eDNA studies and ended up making a proposed research project about using eDNA to study fish populations to compete at the Somers Science Fair.  I would then go onto carry out this proposed research the next summer.