Life sciences/Ecology/Aquatic ecology/Marine ecology/Marine conservation
By 10th grade, Kiki Jenkins decided she wanted to get a doctorate degree. Zoology—at least at that time—was her field of choice when her job as a junior zookeeper at the Baltimore Zoo sparked her interest in endangered species. “I thought I would be like Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey but live in a hut on the Serengeti,” Jenkins said. After a series of science enrichment programs and fellowships to support minorities entering science fields, Jenkins earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and then a doctorate in marine conservation.