Let me ask you something, were you the first in your family to do something?

Maybe go to college, buy a home, or work in a new industry?

Being a trailblazer is hard, it's exciting, but it takes a lot of courage.

Jasmine Graham is one of those people.

She knew when she was young that she wanted to be a marine biologist,

and then she became one who specialized in shark research.

But being one of the only black women in her field was difficult.

So Graham decided to create opportunities for other women of color in shark sciences.

We're bringing you this encore as part of a week of programming to honor black scientists

for Black History Month. This episode aired last summer, and it was led by our awesome

former host, Maddie Savaya.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Shark scientists, Jasmine Graham grew up in a family big, unfishing.

Most of our diet is seafood, so it's obviously super important for sustenance and everything

from my family.

And when she was little, Mule Time was a chance to feed her appetite and her curiosity.

I was that weird person that was asking questions like, what did the fish do when they're not on our

plane? They are living out on the ocean. They have a whole lives. What's going on? And you know,

my family would be like, uh, you're asking a lot of questions. Just eat the fish.

It wasn't until after a high school trip that Jasmine learned there was an entire field of study

devoted to this stuff, marine science. I was like, wait a minute, wait a minute, hold the phone.

People get paid to play with fish and ask all of these questions that I've been trying to ask

...