By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

With marine life facing increasing challenges to survive and thrive, you might wonder, who’s the next generation of people studying to help them?

Answer: People like Lola Taylor, a third-year student at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, with an interest in marine animals. She’s a 5th-generation Seattleite who grew up here in West Seattle and graduated from Chief Sealth International High School. She is currently president of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine Aquatics Club, which specializes in bringing speakers on the topic of veterinary work for marine animals, as well as offering lab work opportunities for students in the field.

(Officers of Aquatics Club at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, from left, Isabelle Hughes, VP; Katelin Buckley, treasurer; Lola Taylor, president; Katie McDonald, secretary. Photo: Ted S. Warren)

Taylor views her work as a crucial element of the dynamic we have with local marine life. “Humans are the reason marine animals end up in rehabilitation centers, and if humans are causing the issue, they have a responsibility to resolve the issue.” she said.

Her passion started here in West Seattle, on the shores of Puget Sound. As a child, she often visited her grandparents in The Arroyos. She was in second grade when she started taking her visits seriously as a way to engage with local aquatic life. “When I went to the beach, my mom said, ‘If you want to be a scientist, they record the things they observe, so you should take a notebook with you’.”

She started noting as much as she could about the local sea-star population (only now recovering from catastrophic losses): “I’d write down colors of starfish, how many there were, if they were dead or alive, and if one was drying out in the sun at low tide, I’d take it back to the water.” All of this, she said, gave her a solid foundation and appreciation for how deeply connected we are to the life on our shores. “My parents instilled in me respect for animals and the environment from a young age, and it’s shaped the course of my volunteering and career path.” she said.

(Photo courtesy Lola Taylor)

She has continued to work locally, helping animals both on and off shore. During high school, she volunteered with the Seattle Aquarium‘s “Youth Ocean Advocates” program for three years, contributing more than 400 hours of her time. Her relationship with the aquarium has continued, as she’s recently had opportunities to shadow the veterinary work there and continue to build connections. She’s also helped with the Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network here in West Seattle. She remembered fondly volunteering at the Alki Art Fair this summer with the group, doing education work while tabling: “I signed up for a 2-hour shift and kept talking the entire time, I hadn’t even realized two hours had passed – one of my fellow volunteers said ‘are you sure you want to go back to school after this?’”

Her dream is to be able to further this work after graduating from veterinary school. She said that while the field of aquatic veterinarians is very competitive, with limited spots, she is dedicated to the cause no matter what path she might follow. “Even if I don’t end up in the dream of working 40 hours a week at an aquarium, I hope to be able to give back volunteering.” she said.

Currently, her club is raising funds for a trip to the University of Washington‘s Friday Harbor Laboratories, in the San Juan Islands. The trip will allow them to tour the laboratories, as well as participate briefly in some of the work there, and see both local Salish Sea marine species and ways they help treat them. They’re fundraising mainly to provide transportation and housing for the trip, as they’re hoping to accommodate the whole of the club – around 30 students.

She’s hoping to share her passion for Pacific Northwest marine life with her fellow students who are from elsewhere. “A lot of students in our club are students from the East Coast or [other land-locked states] who have only really seen Pullman, this is a great opportunity for them to see the Salish Sea.” she said.

If you want to donate to help her club’s cause for further education about local marine wildlife, and help inspire a future generation of doctors and scientists who could help our local marine life, you can find their page here. The campaign runs only until November 12th, and she says time is of the essence so they can make the trip.