Alumni Story: Nina Venuti

High School Attended: Los Altos High School

College Attended: University of California, San Diego

“Curiosity, love of learning, self-motivation and confidence—all developed at Bowman—are necessary in my job.”

Curiosity and confidence, fostered by Bowman, prepares students to tackle critical world problems

Nina Venuti, a Bowman Alumna, doesn’t shrink from the task of trying to answer some of the most difficult environmental questions. She is a research assistant at California Sea Grant, a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that harnesses the resources of the federal government, the State of California, and universities across the state to conduct applied research.

“I currently work on a number of different research projects, all having to do with coastal ecosystems and communities. I like that my job sits at the intersection of environmental and social issues, and often requires interdisciplinary efforts to solve problems,” she explains.

Nina believes that her time at Bowman nourished her inquisitiveness and passion that drove her to pursue science. "The variety of subjects and ideas that Bowman exposed me to allowed me to be curious about a lot of different things," she says. "It was an exciting, enriching environment."

One of her favorite memories at Bowman was when her Lower Elementary (then called Lower School) class worked together to create life-sized pictures of a variety of whales, including blue whales, sperm whales, narwhals, belugas, and humpback whales. She fondly recalls partnering with classmates to measure out the length of each species then drawing and coloring the scaled representations to display on the walls.

Experiences like these helped Nina become a self-motivated learner, an insightful investigator, and a collaborative team member—essential characteristics for interdisciplinary scientific inquiry that will advance the wellness of the people and the planet.