AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Dr Diva Amon and I’m a deep sea biologist.

The terms “oceanographer” and “marine biologist” are kind of interchangeable. But I prefer biologist. Because I study the life.

Every time – and it’s every time – I’m introduced, I get, “So you could sing?”

I asked my parents why they named me Diva. I guess the name didn’t have (today’s) commonplace connotations.

I sometimes tell people (it was because) “diva” means “celestial being” in Hindi (but the truth is) my mother’s favourite perfume was Diva and she thought it was a beautiful word. So I feel I just have to own it.

I was surrounded by nature from young. My family has lived in Moka, Maraval, this obscenely beautiful part of Trinidad, since I was four. Not only did we have a garden, which is itself a privilege, but we were so close to the golf course. Really old-old, big-big trees.

It’s so lame, but I found these notebooks with these naturalist-type notes (I made) when I was little. Nature as a solid part of my life was fostered not just from going to the beach and the ocean, but from where I grew up.

I come from an unusually small family, for Trinidad. It’s literally just my mom and dad and one younger sister.

And now my parents are separated so it’s, like, even smaller, I guess.

Paul, Roslyn and Alexandra.

It’s one of those things you hesitate to say (but secondary school) was St St Joseph’s Convent.

I know, right? Convent girl, Convent accent. You’re immediately in a box.

Same thing with Moka.

And, sure, all those things are true but they all (also) open you up to being put in boxes. And people judge you before they know you.

My second career would have been nun.

No. Absolutely kidding. I don’t believe in God or organised religion. I’m an atheist.

There are lots of things to say about religion but, from a scientific and environmentalist perspective, I don’t think it gives nature enough credit.

I could not get home from London because of the closed borders. So I got into this really bad habit of, “Well, I might as well just work.” I’m a stereotypical overachiever, perfectionist, all those things.

So I worked an insane amount. In London, you literally could not leave the house.

Coming back to Trinidad was really lovely, to be able to do things I love, other than my work, and to remember I’m a total water baby. If I could, I’d be snorkelling, free-diving, standup-paddling

all the time.

A deep sea biologist studies the little-known habitats of the deep ocean.

My particular work also focuses on how humans are impacting them. There are very few careers like it. That allow you to (move) amongst the first peoples, see new species, habitats and behaviours – and yet that happens

every single research cruise. That’s a phenomenal thing to be part of.

I