Most people know that a large part of the world ocean remains unexplored. Even after decades of scanning and probing the depths of Earth’s largest habitat, all the remotely operated vehicles, submarines, and scientists have seen just a small fraction of what is really down there. To Katy Croff Bell, exploring the uncharted waters of the world ocean is a great opportunity for people of color and women, in general, to engage in science. According to her, increasing the diversity of people in this field can only lead to good things.

Marine Explorer Katy Croff Bell Advocates More Diversity In Her Field

Katy Croff Bell is a marine explorer and an expert on the deep sea, which is the parts that are below two hundred meters. Bell has been involved in more than forty archaeological and oceanographic expeditions since 1999. When she began, the diversity of people in her field was not great, with just a few women actively participating.

According to Bell, if people are to actually explore the ocean in its entirety, they would need to involve new technology and new communities of people. To that end, she has built a diverse coalition of deep-sea students and explorers and has also developed many ways that would make the field more accessible to women and people of color.

Recently, Bell and Her Colleagues Have Made Significant Discoveries In Their Field

In recent years, new robotic and telepresence technologies have allowed Bell and her colleagues to make major discoveries. In 2019, the students monitoring the deep-sea were the first to notice and document cow sharks in the waters of the Galapagos Islands. By deploying sea depth cameras and live streaming every expedition, Bell ensures that the thousands of people around the globe who want to explore the ocean can do so with her. This also allows people from different backgrounds to get to know the deep-sea exploration field and possibly enter it in the future, increasing the diversity of those participating in different research groups.

It’s no secret that the ongoing pandemic has left many people struggling financially. Some people have lost their jobs, others have had to take pay cuts, and there are even some who have lost their whole business. This has left people without money to pay their rent or bills, and this was the case for one salon worker. However, her life changed when a customer left behind a huge tip.

Opening Back Up

Due to lockdown measures and social distancing rules, hair salons across the world have had to close up shop. This was previously the case for Floyd’s 99 Barbershop at the University of Denver. However, at the end of May 2020, the salon opened up its doors once again, and hairstylist Ilisia Novotny made her way back to work.

Struggling to pay rent

Because the barbershop had been closed for two months, Ilisia had been struggling to pay her rent. Without work to do, the single mother had to talk to her landlord and her utility company to come to an arrangement so that she could keep a roof over her child’s head. She was happy to go back to work, but she couldn’t believe her eyes when she noticed the tip that one of her last customers of the day left her.

Not A Mistake

A walk-in customer had made their way into the hair salon, and Ilisia got to work as she normally would – thankfully for the business. When he walked out of the shop, though, he noted that “it’s not a mistake.” Ilisia was confused, until she realized that he had tipped her $2,500. Alongside this, he also left $500 for the receptionist, $1,000 for the manager, and $1,800 for the rest of the staff. The customer knew that times had been hard, so he wanted to give back.

It’s amazing to see people being so generous during uncertain times.