Meet Ocean Explorer Jacqueline Ratliff

OET proudly welcomes Jacqueline Ratliff to the Corps of Exploration as part of the Science & Engineering Internship Program. This internship program supports community college, undergraduate, and graduate students in building professional workforce experience and exploring STEAM-related careers that connect to research themes like robotics, ocean science, education, and exploration. Jacqueline is joining E/V Nautilus for our NA179 expedition as a video systems engineering intern.

We sat with Jacqueline to learn more about her experience at sea and the path that led her to Nautilus.

Describe your role with OET.

My role as the video systems engineering intern involves a lot of moving parts. My job entails helping broadcast footage to our satellite streams on the website. I am the eyes of the ROVs. By being the eyes, I help the pilots navigate the ocean's seafloor. As we move across the seafloor and go through the ocean itself by diving deep into the ether, we are able to have our scientists on board help identify different species and organisms that we pass by. My job is to zoom in on these beautiful creatures and organisms to help the scientist be able to identify and see these organisms more clearly. These are just some of the different activities I perform during one of my watches.

Can you tell us a little about your background? What influenced you as a child?

Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be outside and to hold a camera. Those were the two things that I knew for certain I wanted to get out of my career. How am I going to do that, well, that is a whole another story. My background started when I went to Ohio University and graduated with a Media Arts & Studies - Integrated Media degree. My dream job has always been National Geographic and I remember when I was first looking into my early academic career, I learned that Nat Geo was looking for those who had knowledge of multiple disciplines.  Therefore, I decided to get minors in history, geography, and communication studies. By the time I was a junior/senior, I decided to go to graduate school at Montana State University, and then ended up with an MFA degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking. At MSU, I learned a lot about not only the technical camera operating systems, but also story structure with documentary stylistic films. The program opened my eyes to a whole new world of documentary filmmaking and networking possibilities.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be either one of two things. When I was in fourth grade, I wanted to be a professional soccer player and/or an elephant zookeeper.  Although I never became a professional soccer player, I did play varsity through high school, which was pretty amazing. Being an elephant zookeeper was a little bit harder. However, I did end up working with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium as a landscaper. It was still pretty awesome as I got to see the elephants every day. As a photographer/videographer, I do get to see and experience things most others don't, and with that being said, I hope to be able to photograph and film African elephants out in the wild one day!

What would you consider to be your greatest challenge entering this field?

Getting my foot in the door is what I would say is the hardest challenge for me so far. I figured out that networking is the number one aspect that people seem to disregard as unimportant, when in reality, it's the number one thing everyone in all fields should be doing. Some of my jobs and projects have been brought to my attention through networking with professionals in my field, professors, scientists, and even students I worked with (which is how I got this internship)! So, I would definitely say that getting my foot in the door is the hardest part because once you're in, it's a lot easier to say yes and no to the jobs that are hopefully coming your way.
 

Do you have any advice for someone looking to follow a similar path?

Be patient! This stuff is not going to happen overnight. It takes dedication and hard work, a lot of sleepless nights, and networking. In the end, it will always work out in your favor as long as you put the work into it. Go to college classes, seminars, and talks outside of your degree. Try new events and put yourself out there whenever you can. Always look on LinkedIn and social media, and not just job websites. Most of the jobs I have worked for have been through their personal websites. Just don't give up.

What's next for your ocean studies and career?  

I really do not know whats next for me and thats kinda the fun part about it. I know for a fact I want to do something with a camera for the rest if my life, I want to travel, and I want to share my experiences with the world. I want to share conservation and sustainability, alongside sport and historical stories. The possibilities are endless. I am currently enjoying the time I have on the Nautilus and would love to come back again someday and experience this amazing opportunity all over again. I love learning about the ocean and its inhabitants!