Bekki
“Every single woman is powerful, worthy and deserving of everything the world has to offer. It is about knowing our truth and knowing that we can be whatever we want to be.”
Bekki is a Marine Biologist who is passionate about ocean life and conservation initiatives. Her childhood on a farm sparked her love and appreciation for animals, which only expanded when she began working in tropical locations and learning about their aquatic creatures. This career has given her the opportunity to swim amongst some of the most unique species and coral reefs, while allowing her to also educate surrounding communities on how to maintain and protect them. As someone who puts her whole heart into her work, she shows us the power in one individual’s ability to make a positive imprint on the environment and all its inhabitants. Meet Bekki. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
B: My name is Bekki. I am a Marine Biologist and I love spending time doing anything outdoors, hiking, swimming, skiing or just sitting in the garden. As a young kid I fell in love with the ocean and sharks. From the age of 12 I knew I wanted to be a Marine Biologist when I grew up, it was something I told absolutely anyone who would listen.
I grew up on a farm in Australia, surrounded by animals big and small. For the past few years I have been working in the Maldives as a Marine Biologist, I love living the tropical, easy going island life.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
B: I am a very passionate, determined, loving and caring person. I’m a bit of a perfectionist in the things that I do, so I always do things with so much passion and attention to the outcome. When I love, I love hard and will give my heart and soul to the people and the things that I love. I’m a bubbly person that can always find myself talking about the ocean in every kind of social interaction haha.
K: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
B: I love how much I love and care, about the environment and about the people in my life.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
B: In 2012 I took my first trip outside of Australia, I had just finished my second year of my bachelor degree in Marine Biology and I was travelling to Mauritius for a volunteer internship in marine conservation as part of my placement for one of my subjects at university. I was so nervous as it was my first time travelling internationally and I was travelling alone. But off I went, and I met an amazing bunch of like-minded people who all love the ocean just as much as I do. It was such an amazing experience and it helped me realise so much about myself and about the world we live in. Not only did I get a new love for travel, but this trip helped me realise my true love of wanting to protect the marine environment and especially coral reefs around the world.
Every day I was in the water seeing beautiful coral and the most colourful tropical fish, it was a dream come true. I was thinking - “can this really be happening?” That I get to spend all day in tropical warm water counting fish species and coral abundance on many different reefs. We worked with the local community to help regulate the use and activities surrounding the reef and educate them on the importance of protecting the reef and creating a marine protected area.
It opened my eyes to the essential roles a whole community plays in helping maintain ocean health and how we can’t be naive in thinking that we are just one person and we don’t have an impact and that we can’t create change. Every single one of us can have an impact and every single one of us can create change. After this trip I knew I wanted to work in tropical marine conservation and make this my career. I went on to do further study in tropical marine biology and learnt all about coral reefs and their importance and dreamed of working on a tropical island saving coral reefs.
Not only did this solidify my goal and dreams of my life but it opened my life to the possibility of working and living overseas in remote areas, it gave me more drive to continue to follow my dreams and succeed.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
B: Never give up, there will be many people telling you to give up and at times it can seem like the world is against you and your passions. Don’t dampen that fire burning within you, you have been blessed with this deep ingrained passion for a reason.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
B: Being a woman is more than a gender and a sex. Being a woman is to be powerful and nurturing. To be confident in our strong bodies that continue to change over time. Being a feminist and being feminine. Every single woman is powerful, worthy and deserving of everything the world has to offer. It is about knowing our truth and knowing that we can be whatever we want to be.
It’s about the sisterhood; embracing other women and supporting other women, that kind of love and support is everything, it could move mountains! When we support each other and stop competing against other women, that’s when we can do anything.
Being surrounded by strong powerful women, such as my mum, from a young age has shown me the true ability a woman has. From watching my mum achieve her dreams and work so hard going after what she wants inspired me, and showed that I, and every other woman and girls out there, can also do the same.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to them if they were here now?
B: My female inspiration is Sylvia Earle - a renowned marine biologist who has been in the forefront of ocean conservation for decades. A true “Hero of the Planet”.
"Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea." - Sylvia Earle
If I was lucky enough to meet Sylvia Earle I would be telling her how much she inspired me, as a young girl, to become a woman in ocean science. I would thank her for all her work and for striving for change in marine conservation.