Dr. Steijn van Schie (1981) has thought since childhood that Captain Ortega’s ship’s log might very well be true. The cartoon series The Snorkels made such an impression on him that, to this day, he still secretly believes in Snorkelland, a land somewhere deep in the sea where small creatures with a tube on their heads live. Naturally, he tells no one this, but he is happy to admit his endless fascination with marine life, a fascination that was presumably sparked in front of a television screen more than thirty years ago.

During his adolescence, his interest in the underwater world was further sparked by documentaries such as the BBC’s The Blue Planet, and eventually, on his 19th birthday, he traveled to the ocean floor of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia for the first time. The starting point of his career had been laid, and in 2001, he began his studies in marine biology at the University of Groningen.

After his studies, he entered the world of media. First, he worked for years as an editor atHow?So! Radioand after that he came to work on popular science programs asThe Knowledge of Today (now: Focus) enKatja’s Body Scan. Although radio and television work are close to his heart, his passion for writing—cultivated during his master’s degree in science journalism—has always prevailed. Now, he can fully channel his creative energy into *Bionieuws* and enjoys writing about a wide range of topics.

He still dives, though with two daughters aged nine and eleven, he doesn’t get to do it as often as he would like. But he doesn’t mind: he now primarily shares his fascination with underwater life with them—and secretly hopes that they, too, will one day believe in Snorkel Land.

While most young children aspire to careers as firefighters, pilots, or dolphin trainers, Aafke Kok (b. 1994) wanted to become an ‘expert’ when she was eight—a term she picked up from the captions identifying smart people on *Het Jeugdjournaal*.

She hasn’t made it to *Jeugdjournaal*—at least not yet—but fortunately, she is able to realize part of that early career ambition as a science journalist: sharing knowledge about science with a broad audience. And, of course, preferably about the most wonderful field of all: biology.

The psychology-oriented courses during her psychobiology studies at the University of Amsterdam were rather disappointing—perhaps a straight biology degree would have been a better choice after all. Fortunately, at *Bionieuws*, she is still able to delve into the full breadth of the field of biology.

In her spare time, she seeks a challenge in complex synchronized swimming choreographies. Alternatively, as a triathlete, she enjoys the natural surroundings of her hometown, Arnhem, while cycling, running, or swimming. During longer breaks, she also loves setting out on long cycling tours—with a record of 5,000 kilometers covered from Toulouse to Marrakech over the course of four months.