Meet the Bride & Groom
The Groom, Bryan Robert Franks
Bryan was born in Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey on December 7th 1974. His parents lived in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey but moved to Vineland, New Jeresy when Bryan was 1 year old. He was always very sports oriented, playing basketball and competitive soccer through high school. He received his bachelor of science degree from Villanova University in 1997. He received his Master’s in Environmental Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. For his Master’s research Bryan studied desert tortoises in the California desert. During this time, he also did work in Costa Rica working with leatherback sea turtles. But Bryan had always been fascinated with sharks from the time his uncle took him fishing off New Jersey. So for his doctorate research Bryan wanted to look at shark ecology. He conducted his field research at the Bimini Biological Field Station from Nov 2003 to Dec 2005. Bryan is now back in Philadelphia working on his write up and defense. He plans to pursue a post-doctorate working with sharks.
The Bride, Joy Michelle Young
Joy was born in Lawrence, Kansas on February 13th, 1979. She spent her first 21 years in San Diego, CA where she built a strong passion for ocean life, particularly sharks. After working as an aquarist at SeaWorld and Wonders of Wildlife in Missouri she decided to try her hand at research with sharks. She worked in Bimini for a year before deciding to return to school full time to earn her degree. Joy graduated with her bachelor of science from Middle Tennessee State University in May 2006. She chose Tennessee to work with a well respected shark parasitologist, Dr. George Benz. After Joy and Bryan moved to Philadelphia, she received a position working for the City of Philadelphia as an aquatic biologist. She plans to attend graduate school studying sharks.