I am currently a senior at Old Dominion University and I am studying to become a marine biologist. Ever since I was little, I have always loved the sea. Growing up in San Francisco, almost all my adventures as a kid revolved around the ocean. My grandmother would take me to collect horseshoe crabs and sand dollars on the beach every morning, my mother would take me crabbing down in Half Moon Bay, and I spent a lot of time at Wharf feeding the sea lions and chasing sea gulls. I have always want to be a marine biologist for as far back as I can remember. However, when September 11th happened, I was in the 8th grade. It was then I decided to put my dream on hold and serve my country. I spent 4 years in the US Marines, and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the Black Knights. Once I got out, I spent many years as a fighter/paramedic still serving my country but in a different capacity. My passion for the ocean has only grown since I was a kid, and it was in Paramedic school I decided that I wanted to switch from saving people to saving marine life. I am eager to spend the rest of my days on or near the water doing what I can to preserve our oceans and the life that lives in those waters as well as the life that depends on the ocean to survive.