Rosie Moore is a scientist who is also a model.
Sometimes she's in the field watching hatch, other times she's underwater doing a photo shoot.
She said that when people discover she is a scientist, they respect her more.
An as-told-to essay was written based on a conversation with Rosie Moore. The essay has been edited to make it clearer.
I'm from the middle of nowhere in Missouri. The log cabin wood aesthetic was important to me as a child. I think that's why I'm outdoorsy because we used to have four wheelers.
I thought I would go to Florida and find a job working with sharks. When I was 20, I moved to Florida to attend Florida Atlantic University. Using data to figure out where things are and why is what I studied in graduate school. I worked with water resources and other animals.
The city of Delray has a water resource management department. I do a lot of things on the side, including hunting pythons and shark diving.
I also have a modeling career.
People think I'm like Hannah Montana because I'll post and I'll be out in the field doing crazy things or up to my waist in mud, and then the next thing they know I'll be at a luxury event.
Both biology and tech are dominated by males. When I was interviewing for my firstgeoscience position, almost all of the interviews were male. When women were present, they were either secretaries or junior staff, and it was an interview of six middle aged men and me.
More women are entering the biological sciences, but the people who have the most experience are still mostly men. It will take a long time for more women to be in leadership positions.
I encourage women to enter these fields. It's definitely worth it and a cool thing to do when you have mostly male classmates.
I've worked with wildlife for a long time. Watching crocodilian babies hatch was one of the best things.
I like theunpredictability. You don't know what to expect. It could be the craziest night of your life if you find the most elusive snake you've ever seen in your life.
After moving to Florida, I got into free diving and shark diving. There is a niche for girls that can dive well to model with sharks or underwater, so I started meeting up with photographers for some product shoots.
I continued to work and make alliances with brands. I have contracts with some clothing and drink companies, as well as an agency that does luxury event modeling. I do that whenever they need models for high-end events in South Florida.
Modeling and science are not the same job. In science, the people that I'm usually surrounded by are very down to earth. The people I work with for modeling jobs have a more upscale vibe.
Science is more respected and that makes it more fulfilling to work in it. It's almost like someone finds out you're a scientist when you're talking to them. When people think you are just a model, it feels like they don't think much of you, but once they know you have a respected career, they think more highly of you.
In the science world, people respect the fact that I model, so it's interesting that it goes both ways.
People always say, "I would never expect that from someone who looks like me," when it comes to the outdoors. It's cool to not be what people expect, but it shows a lack of representation in media.
As you see on TV, adventurers are usually men. A lot of children prefer activities that they learn are preferred by their own sex. I think that disparity in representation causes people's opinions of who does that kind of thing to be skewed, and also causes young girls not to pursue outdoor wildlife careers.
When I moved to Florida, I found girls on social media who were good free divers and they pushed me to get into it. Even though mainstream media doesn't do much for women, I think with social media girls like me, we can reach a targeted audience.
I had a bunch of little girls from all over the world reach out to me after I posted the video. They would ask me questions about how to get into science if they sent me a video or voice message. I had a little girl tell me about her love of snakes, and it was the sweetest video ever.
I post a lot of my modeling pictures on social media, but I make sure I post wildlife and outdoors stuff to promote that adventurous image too, so I can show other girls that it's cool to have hobbies.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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