As a child I spent a week each summer at the beach in Cape May, NJ. These days at the beach were the highlight of my year. Once I was old enough to participate in the planning and packing I was always asking for more time on the beach. During bad weather we would visit the conservation centers located in and around Cape May. These center experiences led me to really research the ocean life located in NJ. As a teenager I became interested in surfing and have purchased my own board. On a graduation trip to Hawaii I encountered fish and other sea life out where I was surfing, which was a very unique experience. The snorkeling excursion we participated in solidified my desire to work with coral as a life goal. Being unsure of what I wanted to pursue as a career path I attended AIM run by the Coast Guard Academy my junior year summer. There i was introduced to the field of Marine Science and Marine Biology. My sister had to write a paper in college English class and chose to research the great Pacific garbage patch. In listening to her talk about this problem in the ocean I started to do my own research about other issues and problems in the ocean. I discovered that ocean pollution and temperatures are affecting the coral reefs as well as people harvesting the reef for aquarium displays. Having chosen University of Delaware to attend college as a Marine Science major I hope to join a conservation company like 4Oceans or National Geographic to assist in rehabilitation of the world's coral reefs. Other companies I have found are in Bali and other exotic places and they are gardening coral for aquarium displays and to help repopulation efforts. The idea of performing this work excites me. This past semester I have learned to scuba dive and obtained my first certification. Over the winter semester in 2024 I will travel to Florida with my scuba instructor and other classmates to train and obtain my second dive certification as well as my scientific dive certification. With these certifications I hope to obtain a summer job as a scientific diver and further my experience with coral reefs and other underwater creatures. I applied for and was selected to participate in the StemSEAS program this summer which will place me on a research vessel for a week as it repositions for it's next assignment. The program allows 10 undergraduate students to explore the world of ocean research and use the equipment to conduct sampling and testing that will be incorporated into the research being conducted. It's an awesome opportunity for me to see if I can comfortably live and work on a ship at sea. Having this experience will also allow me to create contacts for the future and hopefully make some friends interested in my field of study. Ultimately I would like to live and work in a warm climate to help clean up the ocean of pollution and rehabilitate coral reefs. My goals would be more easily met without having huge debt from college loans over my head and I appreciate the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. Thank you for your consideration.

My childhood love of the ocean on the East Coast has inspired me to become involved and learn how to assist with ocean clean up and rehabilitation of the world's coral reefs. Every summer my family would spend a week vacationing in Cape May, NJ. Mostly we stayed on the beach all day, my Mother introduced my sister and I to ocean life through the muscles stuck on the jetti rocks, the sand crabs we'd dig up and hold in buckets to play with for an hour or so and then release and the dead jelly fish or horse shoe crabs that would wash up. As a teenager I took up surfing during our time in Cape May and once I could drive I took friends and went for day trips. After a visit to Hawaii with my family last summer I knew I wanted to have a career somehow tied to the ocean. The lava rocks and abundant sea life were amazing. We went on a snorkeling excursion that sealed the deal; seeing that reef and the fish up close and in person just inspired me to know this was what I wanted to do with my life. The summer of my junior year of high school I attended AIM run by the US Coast Guard at the Academy in New London, Connecticut. The experience I gained that week helped me realize that I didn't want to enlist in the military, as I had been considering, and introduced me to the field of Marine Science as a career. Now as a freshman in college I am learning how to scuba dive and hoping to qualify for an internship next summer in Bermuda learning about their reef ecosystem and taking some really cool classes about coral and related species. Upon graduation I will hopefully be hired by a company I am already researching that "gardens" coral located in Fiji. This company sells to aquariums and others so wild coral is not poached; they also are helping to supply repopulation efforts worldwide. Other options for career paths would include research vessels with NOAA or other government or private sector companies that are involved in ocean clean up or research. I have applied for a summer program called STEMSeas which gives college students an opportunity to sail on and experience a research vessel for a week as it relocates for a new project. The students run the lab equipment and collect samples. It's a wonderful opportunity to discover if ship life is for me and to explore new ocean research opportunities for career paths. I hope I am one of the 80 students chosen. My heart's desire is to travel and research or work in an exotic location for the first 5-8 years after graduation. I'm very curious about life at sea, so to live on a research vessel would not be out of the question. I detest the cold weather and can't wait to relocate someplace with a year round warm climate; this is the other reason for selecting coral reefs and related species to study. Thank you for considering my application as I have been helping finance my education with many scholarships.

If the whole world could all read just one book it should be the Bible. The world today is a very scary place, one I'm afraid to enter as an adult and I question bringing children into. If everyone would read the Bible and take one good thing from it perhaps people would change for the better. Jesus Christ came and saved us all. To walk in his way and treat others as we'd like to be treated would definitely move the world into a better place. The Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew gives us very easy guidelines for living a Christ like life. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the poor, widows and orphans. Make peace with your enemies and don't hold grudges. The world today has forgotten about all this as it moves in a secular way. The stories in the Bible are inspiring and uplifting, they teach and entertain. Sharing this book would allow everyone something common to talk about and discuss that has relevance. Talk shows and reality TV are destroying how people think of each other. These false images and horrible attacks that are publicly flaunted have ruined so many lives. Social media is destroying our children and their ability to actually communicate with each other and adults. First person shooter games are teaching the youngest generation that it's ok to shoot someone if you disagree with them. The world needs the teaching of God through the stories of Jesus Christ in the Bible.