Dennison University For this semester I will be studying on the South Caicos Island, exploring, researching, and understanding resource management as well as marine ecology. I have chosen this semester abroad for many reasons. As a child I grew up on a lake in New Jersey. All of my free time was spent in or on the water. Nothing entertained me more than water activities, so my interest in exploring this new world began to develop. Unfortunately, my family moved before my 6th grade year and I became separated from the lake. During my seventh grade summer I attended a boys camp which provided the opportunity for campers to become SCUBA certified. I enrolled in the course and immediately fell in love with the sport because it allowed me to experience the underwater world, without being inconvenienced by resurfacing for air. However, once this summer ended I was again separated from the water. I first became interested in the environment as a child while camping with my family and staying on my grandmother's farm. It was these two experiences that instilled a closeness with the wilderness that has always stayed with me. I became very fearful for our world in high school when I began to hear and understand all of the reports about environmental degradation. I wanted to help to try and preserve the earth, but I did not not know where to begin. This all changed once I entered Denison University and was presented with the chance to be one of the first official environmental studies students at the school. I was finally able to study and learn about the environment and make a difference. During sophomore year I attended a slide show offered by the School for Field Studies. It was at this slide show when I realized that I could combine my two interests into one field of study. Now, I am able to study the environment and combine this with the mystical realm of the unexplored oceans. |
Timothy Schwab