I am inspired by oceanography and marine biology. I remember being seven and my Grandmother volunteering at SeaWorld in Florida, wearing a giant dolphin costume; I thought she had the greatest job on earth. At twelve, when I learned humans had only explored 5% of the ocean, I was drawn by the endless deep blue sea and the surface we’ve only touched. I adopted two hermit crabs and learned about their habits, ecosystem, and vulnerabilities. At 15, my Dad enrolled me in a PADI scuba diving certification course in Caye Caulker, Belize, and I was so excited to experience the underwater ecosystem first-hand. As we sailed out to the dive spot, I recalled how often I had looked at the surface of the ocean and wondered if it would really look like the exhibits I had visited at the Baltimore and Monterey aquariums. As I dived down, I remember how mesmerized I was by a fever of stingrays that passed my scuba group. I glided through a coral reef and ensured I avoided the fire coral that I identified from photos I had seen during my studies. On a second dive, I had the chance to help my dive instructor rescue a giant King Crab that had been tightly ensnared in a broken fishing line, pinning its claws to a rock. I surfaced excited to learn more about the ocean and its marine life and spent the rest of the summer reading articles about different marine life and the effects of climate change on our oceans. As a senior, I enrolled in Oceanography and AP Government to learn more about our oceans and the ability to protect them through laws and governance. I am excited to further my interest in these subjects inside and outside of the Loyola Marymount University classroom in Los Angeles, California. More recently, I was surfing with my dad and uncle, when I learned that many historic surf locations have been destroyed by humans. After reading some of Save the Waves Coalition's publications, I was enraged to learn that the creation of jetties to create saltwater swimming pools in Madeira, a bluff to protect Shell Oil's LNG facility in Baja, Mexico, and the redesign of ocean floors to promote shipping lanes, has permanently erased these natural surf spots from existence. Equally distressing is the fact that up to half of the world’s coral reefs have so far been destroyed completely or badly damaged. I remember learning more about coral reef conservation when I obtained my PADI open-water dive certification. I was angered again to learn that water pollution, poison and dynamite fishing, and careless tourists are at the center of many of the underlying factors that contribute to the extinction of coral reefs. My step-mother is a lawyer and after my scuba diving experience in Belize and learning more about the environmental hazards that our oceans and marine life face, I plan to pursue an environmental law degree to complement my future marine biology undergraduate degree. Armed with these specialized degrees, I would fight for environmental laws that protect our oceans and the marine life that inhabit them. I would also continue to actively participate in marine life conservation programs and advance my scuba diving skills by exploring the many unique marine life ecosystems around the world.

I am inspired by oceanography and marine biology. I remember being seven and my Grandmother volunteering at SeaWorld in Florida, wearing a giant dolphin costume; I thought she had the greatest job on earth. At twelve, when I learned humans had only explored 5% of the ocean, I was drawn by the endless deep blue sea and the surface we’ve only touched. I adopted two hermit crabs and learned about their habits, ecosystem, and vulnerabilities. At 15, my Dad enrolled me in a PADI scuba diving certification course in Caye Caulker, Belize, and I was so excited to experience the underwater ecosystem first-hand. As we sailed out to the dive spot, I recalled how often I had looked at the surface of the ocean and wondered if it would really look like the exhibits I had visited at the Baltimore and Monterey aquariums. As I dived down, I remember how mesmerized I was by a fever of stingrays that passed my scuba group. I glided through a coral reef and ensured I avoided the fire coral that I identified from photos I had seen during my studies. On a second dive, I had the chance to help my dive instructor rescue a giant King Crab that had been tightly ensnared in a broken fishing line, pinning its claws to a rock. I surfaced excited to learn more about the ocean and its marine life and spent the rest of the summer reading articles about different marine life and the effects of climate change on our oceans. As a senior, I enrolled in Oceanography and AP Government to learn more about our oceans and the ability to protect them through laws and governance. I am excited to further my interest in these subjects inside and outside of the Loyola Marymount University classroom in Los Angeles, California. My step-mother is a lawyer and after my scuba diving experience in Belize and learning more about the environmental hazards that our oceans and marine life face, I am considering the pursuit of an environmental law degree to complement my future marine biology undergraduate degree. Armed with these specialized degrees, I would fight for environmental laws that protect our oceans and the marine life that inhabits them. I would also continue to actively participate in marine life conservation programs and advance my scuba diving skills by exploring the many unique marine life ecosystems around the world.