Marine Biology Education Abroad

Hi! My name is Selah and I live in Boise with my family! We’ve settled into community life, church and our favorite activities. I go to Mountain View High School in Meridian, Idaho, swim on a competitive level in the afternoons, lead at a local Young Life club, hang with friends, snowboard with my pop and friends, hike, as well as work at a local running store. That’s a short overview of my day to day life.

A few months ago, I applied for a marine biology school called the Island School that offers a cross-cultural semester abroad on an island called Eleuthera (a long, thin island in the Bahamas archipelago). I went in knowing that it was #1 “A crazy idea” and 2. the unsurety that I’d be accepted. Regardless, the process was something that I wanted to try for and I proposed it to my parents that I’d do on my own. I was stoked that my mom and dad supported that decision and my work in the process.

I first found out about the school when I was in sixth grade and I’ve been thinking about it off and on since then. An older girl on my club swim team went to a semester school in the Bahamas called the Island School. The Island school is a marine biology school that's fully sustainable and educates students from around the globe with a hands-on approach. It has been a dream of mine to go to the Island School ever since I heard about it! Hundreds of students worldwide apply for the school, and only 24 girls and 24 boys get in. Out of that, I was chosen as a student that impressed them with academic excellence, extracurricular achievements, spirit and character.

During the application process which started in the fall of 2022 I have had my Young Life leaders, mentors and peers praying for me in this whole process that God would put in my life the best path he had for me, even if that was not going. Knowing the price of it (which ain’t cheap or in the family budget), I applied for several scholarships in hopes to get most of the tuition paid for.

Acceptance letters went out on March 17th around 5 in the evening. When I saw the email come through I was dreading opening it, while telling myself, I need to trust that wherever the letter says is ok. I really believed it would be God's plan for me and regardless of the outcome it did not define me. After months of anticipation, hours of prayers and thought, the email came through saying I was accepted into the Fall 2023 semester!! I was more than excited, but still waiting for the tuition and scholarship letter to come though. A few minutes later, we found out that I got a $15,500 tuition aide. This was awesome, however, it left $21,200 for me to pay. This number is more than my family expected and overwhelming to look at. I know that the Lord is big, and has brought me this far so I am not ready to walk away from it just because of a big, overwhelming number.

First off, I'm reaching out to friends and family to see if you would pray for me in this process whenever God brings me to your thoughts. I know this is a big number that I am aiming for but again, I feel led to trust the process and take this step in faith. So, I’m taking that step and asking folks like you to consider if you’d like to help me get there with any amount of financial assistance to help me cover my tuition.

I will continue working at my current job and will be moving up to full time this summer to cover the remaining amounts needed. Thanks for considering helping me in this rare opportunity!

I am so greatly appreciative of your time and consideration!