We had the good fortune of connecting with Molly Waters and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Molly, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
As a marine biologist stuck land locked all I can do is hope to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity for those seeking information about the ocean. The end goal is inspiring others to learn about , connect and protect the oceans. I hope that people who are curious can help solve some of the greatest problems we face as a species, climate change, sea level rise and ocean acidification. The end goal for me and my career is a moving target which requires constant adjustment and has almost nothing to do with money, just hope.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Growing up I’ve always wanted to work with animals. I whole heartily believe I t’s a calling. I went to school for marine biology, fell in love and ended up land locked in Colorado! It’s not been easy. I started at a dive shop teaching swimming and learning how to become a scuba assistant instructor. I got burnt out and decided I needed to focus on just scuba. To pay the bills I waked dogs full time. Dogs thankfully are another huge passion of mine. You might like dogs, but I pretended to be one as a kid and started my little dog sitting business for the neighborhood before I was 10. During 2019 I was constantly applying to any job that involved fish, animals or outdoors and I got lucky. Now I work for CU Anschutz with zebrafish. The facility has gone through a huge construction phase and growth and I’m lucky to be able to put that on my resume despite it being more work than I expected. I’ve found that getting the job these days isn’t always about experience, sometimes (and most often for me) it’s about luck. Yes, I’m an extremely hard working and dedicated employee, but there are so few jobs for people with my background. I’ve learned that you’ve got to start applying for every job even if you don’t think you’re qualified enough, you may land an interview. Don’t be shy. Go for it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a GIGANTIC note that is just places to eat and drink. I copy and paste that to anyone who I know is visiting. The real question is “are they ready to go camping and get dirty?”. I love visiting twin lakes and Leadville in the summer to get a gorgeous view of the mountains by the water. I don’t like to burn out my guests so I usually do all the driving, camp spot reserving and food prep for those things! A day trip to the national park is a must! There’s an amazing sandwich shop called Scratch at one of the entrances so you can carry in and out your picnic things. My absolute favorite places for coffee are Metropolis and Mutiny. For doughnuts obviously voodoo, but the local places like good bread Denver, Habit, and Pandemic doughnuts. For lunch and dinner my favorite spots include historians ale house, Stubens, Ace Eat Serve, Hop Alley, Illegal Pete’s, Mr. Oso, and Denver Biscuit Company. For drinks obviously hit up the art district! I absolutely rave about sweet action ice cream for dessert! Baker, cap hill and Rino are definitely my favorite areas for food and drink. There’s so much to choose from in Denver, it’s so easy to make a unique experience for someone depending on what they’re looking for! If my guest is into hiking or at least wants to give it a shot I’ll take them to Golden, Boulder, or Red Rocks to walk around or up a hill, there’s so many vista trails off of route 93. It’s hard to choose!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to Jill Murphy. She made some tough decisions to follow her passion as a photographer and through the pandemic has started her own business photographing the beautiful people of Colorado. Check out her work at jmurphyphotos.com

Instagram: Wanderinwaters

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