USD Magazine Spring 2026

Shaping the Next Generation of Science Leaders

By Cameran Zech

A Partnership Decades in the Making

For University of San Diego junior Jace Soto, a childhood curiosity about the environment was the starting point for a much bigger educational journey. When Soto was an elementary school student, he went on field trips to Mission Bay through Ocean Discovery Institute. That’s where lessons about marine habitats first sparked his interest in science. “I was always fascinated with marine biology,” Soto said. “Ocean Discovery helped me understand how animals are affected by environmental effects and human activity.” His interest grew into something more during high school. Soto heard about Ocean Discovery’s Ocean Leader Program while he was a student at Hoover High School in City Heights and signed up. The program guides students to college and careers through after-school and summer programs and support services. That’s just one of the many programs at Ocean Discovery Institute, a San Diego-based nonprofit that uses science to empower students from under-resourced urban neighborhoods to transform their lives and their communities. Each year, the organization serves about 7,000 students through tuition-free programs.

“We make sure that young people in the low income community of City Heights can grow up with science,” said Shara Fisler, founder and executive director of Ocean Discovery Institute. “Because we are on a journey with them all the way from kindergarten until their first job, they can become the science leaders our world needs.” Fisler founded Ocean Discovery in 1999 while teaching as an adjunct professor of biology and marine science at USD. Over more than two decades, the university and the organization have developed a close relationship through various programs and initiatives. Since her time at USD, Fisler has collaborated with many faculty members who have embraced Ocean Discovery’s mission. USD faculty members have lent their expertise, including Drew Talley, PhD, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Perla Myers, PhD, executive director of the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at USD. They have worked alongside college students and Ocean Discovery students in shared scientific exploration.

90% of Ocean Leaders enroll in higher education

61% of Ocean Leader alumni are pursuing science related careers

24 | University of San Diego Magazine