Delaney’s Conservation Research Trip

Hi friends and family. I’m heading back to Mills College working towards my biology major. One of the courses I’m taking this next semester is marine conservation research. One of the important parts of this class is that we’re flying to Roatan, Honduras over spring break. Our college will be working with the Roatan Institute of Marine Science (RIMS). Their purpose is to preserve Roatan’s national resources through research and education. Throughout the semester we will be meeting twice a week to prepare ourselves for the trip. Preparation will include educating ourselves about culture, geographical environment, diving, marine life and their under water environment, all the way up until spring break. It will be an 8 day trip during witch time I will be scuba diving up to two times a day, collecting data for a group research project. It will then be presented at the end of the semester to the school. But that is only one of many things we will be doing in Roatan. The moment the plane wheels touch down we will have daily reports, lectures and project work. The reports are based off of what we learned and accomplished during our dive and lecture. Lectures we have twice a day where we learn about different marine life and corals we will see on dives, as well as ongoing conservation efforts by RIMS. This trip is very important to me because I’ll be able to experience a college class in a new way out of the classroom and into the world. It’s a rare and exciting opportunity to study abroad while being able to do one of my favorite hobbies every day. Taking this class I hope to gain new skills, friends, and possibly an insight into what I hope to do in the future. Last year I took this class but unfortunately I got very sick during the beginning of the semester and was unable to complete the course. I’m really hoping that I can raise enough money so I can retake this class and finish what I started last year. For me to be able to take this class I need to raise enough money to help pay for the registration fee, rental fees and the cost of the class (books, plane ticket, hotel and food). The total cost comes out to be $4,500. I would really appreciate your support.