As a little girl, I fell in love with the ocean and all it entails. I dreamt of owning dolphins, exotic fishes, and fancy colored rocks. This mystical fascination was completely cultivated by my hometown. I grew up in a small beach town in Maine surrounded by the ocean. Every day of the summer I would spend hours in the water, finding myself lost in the swells of the current and the rays of the sun; I craved the sea. Those hours felt like minutes as before I knew it we would be packing up and heading home, only to start the process again early the next morning. Quickly, unknowingly, and ever so easily, I became entranced by this part of the world that is so vital, and yet, so unknown. Its complexity has captivated my interest, and as I have …show more content…
My lifelong passion for the ocean has instilled in me a conservationist drive and a scientific desire that pushes me to seek answers. I want to be able to help our oceans, and I want to discover more about the ocean. As a result, I am committed to conservation. The REU program through PIPES will give me the practical knowledge needed to give back to our oceans and create positive changes. Additionally, I believe the challenging courses I have taken throughout my academic career further qualify me for this program. Various AP courses along with marine science and ecology classes have prepared me to begin participating in research. In 2014, I took a marine ecology summer course at the University of New England. We tested ocean composition, studied the behavior of crabs, and completed various mini lab experiments all while becoming familiar with a lab setting. I took this course to test if marine biology was a field I could see myself pursuing or if it was just a hobby. By the end of the program, I had never been so certain of what I wanted; I could envision myself studying the ocean for the rest of my life. The course had intensified my excitement to continue with my studies of marine biology. My childhood fantasy quickly became a passion worth devoting my career