Kendall is originally from Houston Texas. For undergrad, she majored in marine and environmental science at Hampton University. She is now currently a PhD student in the Sandin lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she focuses on coral bleaching and reef resilience in an era of climate change. Kendall uses the 3D models from the Sandin lab’s 100 Island Challenge to analyze the bleaching response of over 20 reefs in the Pacific exposed to various levels of thermal stress. Her research is targeted towards reefs that have adapted a potential thermal tolerance and show bleaching resistance when enduring thermal stress from climate change.