Hello! My name is Mason McWilliams, and I am going into my second year at the University of Washington as an Oceanography major. I’ve long been interested in marine science. Growing up in a Washington coastal town with a local aquarium where I volunteer has deepened that passion. There, I’ve had the opportunity to study ocean chemistry from the docks and learn about marine animal welfare. I also took the ‘Deep Sea Exploration: Submarine Volcanoes and Novel Life Forms’ class at UW, which inspired me to apply for VISIONS ’25. This is an amazing opportunity to gain fieldwork experience on a research vessel, explore deep-sea topics in greater depth, and see them firsthand. It will also be a chance to learn how ROVs and other ocean technologies actually operate that’s not just through pictures/videos.