Shaping the Next Generation of Science Leaders

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.

A Partnership Decades in the Making

“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.

In October 2025, USD and Ocean Discovery reached a new milestone in their relationship by signing an Anchor Collaboration Agreement, which formalizes their partnership and deepens their commitment to educational access and community engagement. It’s one of fewer than 100 official anchor partnerships at the university, further reinforcing USD’s role as an anchor institution.

An anchor institution is a university that actively invests in the communities around it, explained Christopher Nayve ’98 (BA), ’06 (JD), ’07 (MBA), associate vice president and endowed chair for community engagement at USD’s Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action.

“There’s a lot to learn in the neighborhood,” Nayve said. “What you’re learning in the classroom can really come alive from wisdom holders in the community.”

At USD, this means partnering with organizations like Ocean Discovery to connect students and faculty with programs that support learning opportunities.

“I think the impact of Ocean Discovery’s work, their influence and their connection to the community are all big factors in why we wanted to form this anchor partnership with them,” added Nayve.

One major component of the agreement focuses on public service. The Mulvaney Center will select public service fellows to work with Ocean Discovery, with many serving as fellows in the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program.

College Corps provides students with up to $10,000 per year in exchange for completing 450 hours of community service in areas such as K-12 education, food insecurity, environmental stewardship and community health. At Ocean Discovery, fellows will work directly with young students.

“For all of our students, they can get out in the community and translate what they’re learning in the classroom — and not just the classroom but also what the culture of USD is all about,” said Nayve. “We want them to be a Changemaker. We want them to be kind and empathetic. That plays out in real life when they’re with the Ocean Discovery students.”

From City Heights to Alcalá Park

The partnership will also continue to introduce high school students to life on a college campus. Each year, about 25 Ocean Discovery 11th-grade students are invited to USD for an on-campus research and living experience hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences. During the program, students live in residence halls and conduct research with USD faculty and staff.

“That’s one of the projects that’s amazing because the students get on campus and become college students for a few days,” Fisler said. “They live in the dorms, conduct research and have an extraordinary experience that most high school students don’t get, especially students from low-income neighborhoods. So that is huge.”

Another key part of the collaboration is a teaching fellowship between Ocean Discovery and USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences that nurtures the next generation of educators. The one-year program will provide hands-on teaching experience, professional development and mentorship at Ocean Discovery. Teaching fellows will have multiple options to continue their journey through USD, including coursework toward teaching credentials, access to internships or residency programs and additional professional development.

The partnership also includes joint research focused on helping students build mathematics mindsets through Ocean Discovery’s out-of-school programming.

USD and Ocean Discovery will also continue to support AnchorSTEM Scholars. That program supports students in STEM fields by providing faculty mentorship, research opportunities, community engagement and financial assistance.

For students like Soto, the partnership represents something more personal. Through his time at Ocean Discovery, Soto participated in research opportunities, enrolled in college courses and built connections with university faculty. One connection, in particular, with his mentor, Dr. Perla Myers, led him to apply for the AnchorSTEM Scholars program.

A Full Circle Moment

“Not only did I get an experience at USD in high school, but I loved it here,” Soto said. “I felt accepted. I felt heard. It was basically my place to go, and this was possible because of Ocean Discovery.”

Now pursuing a degree in psychology and marketing, Soto credits Ocean Discovery with helping him explore his interests beyond marine biology.

“Ocean Discovery allowed me to not only discover my passion for science but also develop an understanding of what I should strive for,” added Soto. “They allowed me to find curiosity in other fields, not only marine life, but what other careers are out there.”

Soto continues to stay connected to Ocean Discovery. He returns to mentor and tutor younger students and shares the same excitement that once helped him on his path to college.

“We want to give students a spark that makes young people want to learn,” Fisler said. “Jace is that spark. He is a representation of who Ocean Discovery is as an organization.”

USD and Ocean Discovery hope to ignite that same spark in thousands more students for years to come.

“That is something I feel really grateful for,” Fisler reflected. “We’re all influencing each other in very deeply meaningful ways. We’re all growing and changing together, and we’re making the world a better place in the process.”