I deeply care about protecting our oceans. I have grown up next to the coast and now get to live an adult life next to one of my favorite coasts being Monterey CA! I plan to use my Environmental Studies degree to spread word about how we can reduce carbon emissions and how to use sustainability in our everyday practices. I’ve done volunteering out in our mountains and have work experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is where I have gained extra knowledge on how much is really changing in our ecosystems. Our kelp forests and our reefs are in danger, and I would do anything to help our planets oceans as they remain one of the main reasons our lives still go on. I am very passionate about our environment, and it starts greatly with our oceans and how we can protect them. In my degree program I hope to learn more about what we need to do as a society to reduce waste that’s going into our oceans, as well as what we can do to advocate and inspire next generations as well as our own! For example, reducing all use of Artificial Intelligence, deforestation, toxic sunscreen, reducing use of plastic, reusing what we have, and so many more sustainable practices we can use. Something I would love to advocate more about is the use of commercial fishing. This is one of the main reasons our oceans can’t reproduce and grow. I’ve gained knowledge in sustainable fishing from the Seafood Watch program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and learned that where we get our seafood is so greatly important for our ocean habitats. Commercial fishing ruins tons of thousands of ecosystems in our oceans, yet we cannot see the damage that has been done because we simply don’t see it. I’ve seen countless of species die off from bycatch in not so much time. I’ve seen footage from the 1980s where our reefs were flourishing with colors and life. To see where it is now is terrifying, but this doesn’t mean we lose hope. One of the most important things to hang onto is hope for our oceans and our planet or else that would mean we gave up on Mother Earth. Following that would mean giving up on ourselves and all the living things in our lifetime. There are so many coral reef restoration programs that are making a difference! Also, there are tons of new hope spots that refuse commercial fishing and have flourished once again in just a couple months! We can definitely make a difference in our lifetime but we can’t let ourselves run out of time before it worsens. I hope my goal of conservation for the ocean spreads and I cannot wait to get out there and do what is best for our planet.