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To whom it may concern,
My name is Valerie and I'm currently living in Alaska. I grew up on an island in the Aleutian chain my entire life. Some of you may know of the island(s) Unalaska/ Dutch Harbor--the host town(s) of the Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. I graduated Unalaska High School in 2012 and began attending the University of Alaska Anchorage. I’ve being paying my tuition out of pocket and doing so has been difficult. At the time being, I’m taking a break to financially get on my feet as well as gain some life experience. I’m currently working two jobs, seven days a week (yes, I’m aware that’s insane… I’ve been doing so for over a year now). I’ve come to believe that I’ve worked myself senseless.
For my break from school, I'm looking to take a break from the fast pace life and try put more meaning in life...something other than work, work, and more work. I feel as though there's more to life than working one's life away. I want to explore, have a purpose, and make a difference in the world. So, I've been looking to do volunteer work abroad.
I've done research on volunteer programs; however, it looks as though it would cost money to participate in. Which I can understand for room/board, food, airfare, etc. I'm looking to volunteer in Africa specifically. I've always been good with biology and am looking to volunteer with wild life conservations. The reason why is because throughout high school, I've participated in the National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB), which is an academic after school program where one learns about the oceanography, biology, laws, ecosystems, developing a research paper on developing an ecosystem based management plan for a specified area. Which, for the competition, my group and I won 3rd in State for our developmental plan on an "Ecosystem Base Management Approach to Developing an Octopus Fishery." This was a huge achievement for my fellow class mates and I and has made a large impact on my life. I’m looking to build my life towards biology.
Biology has always been fascinating to me, and have been good at it and am looking to further myself in that area of study. So, I'm looking to work with/volunteer with wild life. In my research for volunteer programs, I've happened upon two that spark my interest, the Big 5 Wildlife & Conservation Paradise in South Africa and Cape Town Wildlife Conservation. Each are roughly the same in cost for fees for room/board, food, and other expenses.
I'm looking to raise money and use the funds that I do happen to raise for airfare, room, board, and food while I volunteer and make a difference for the locals, the wild life, and the ecosystem of the specified area.
To give an overview of what the programs are, they're both a monitoring program where one would survey and track wild life, their habitat, and their prey in the area (the ecosystem). This to help "lead to the protection of local and regional species and provides a platform that steer global sustainability. A critical component to biodiversity conservation is to understand the challenges urbanization imposes on wild populations."
In order for me to participate, I would have to provide the money, so I’m here and am looking for sponsors. I'm looking to start as soon as possible once I've reached my funding goal. The funds would all go towards the volunteer program for the fees and expenses for my volunteer time abroad.
This would mean a great deal to me, and I'm sure for the volunteer program that I'm interested in. Not only would I be making a difference in research on ecosystems, but it would make a difference in my life. It would provide me with life experience and training that I could use to further my education and career.
As far as my career goals and plans, I hope to use this experience as a way to learn and use skills that I would learn. I'm a lover of all animals, but love the orca and polar bear--both of which are unique animals and primary preditors in their ecosystems. My goal is to use the skills and knowledge from the expedition to use towards studying either the polar bear or orca. For the polar bear in the Northern America due to the ever changing climate in the ecosystem and how it effects the polar bears habitat or the diverse ecosystems in which the ocra can be found as well as the unique communication among the orca pods and their varying language patterns.
So, if you could please contribute to this cause, it would be greatly appreciated!
Have a good day/life!
Valerie S.
My name is Valerie and I'm currently living in Alaska. I grew up on an island in the Aleutian chain my entire life. Some of you may know of the island(s) Unalaska/ Dutch Harbor--the host town(s) of the Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. I graduated Unalaska High School in 2012 and began attending the University of Alaska Anchorage. I’ve being paying my tuition out of pocket and doing so has been difficult. At the time being, I’m taking a break to financially get on my feet as well as gain some life experience. I’m currently working two jobs, seven days a week (yes, I’m aware that’s insane… I’ve been doing so for over a year now). I’ve come to believe that I’ve worked myself senseless.
For my break from school, I'm looking to take a break from the fast pace life and try put more meaning in life...something other than work, work, and more work. I feel as though there's more to life than working one's life away. I want to explore, have a purpose, and make a difference in the world. So, I've been looking to do volunteer work abroad.
I've done research on volunteer programs; however, it looks as though it would cost money to participate in. Which I can understand for room/board, food, airfare, etc. I'm looking to volunteer in Africa specifically. I've always been good with biology and am looking to volunteer with wild life conservations. The reason why is because throughout high school, I've participated in the National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB), which is an academic after school program where one learns about the oceanography, biology, laws, ecosystems, developing a research paper on developing an ecosystem based management plan for a specified area. Which, for the competition, my group and I won 3rd in State for our developmental plan on an "Ecosystem Base Management Approach to Developing an Octopus Fishery." This was a huge achievement for my fellow class mates and I and has made a large impact on my life. I’m looking to build my life towards biology.
Biology has always been fascinating to me, and have been good at it and am looking to further myself in that area of study. So, I'm looking to work with/volunteer with wild life. In my research for volunteer programs, I've happened upon two that spark my interest, the Big 5 Wildlife & Conservation Paradise in South Africa and Cape Town Wildlife Conservation. Each are roughly the same in cost for fees for room/board, food, and other expenses.
I'm looking to raise money and use the funds that I do happen to raise for airfare, room, board, and food while I volunteer and make a difference for the locals, the wild life, and the ecosystem of the specified area.
To give an overview of what the programs are, they're both a monitoring program where one would survey and track wild life, their habitat, and their prey in the area (the ecosystem). This to help "lead to the protection of local and regional species and provides a platform that steer global sustainability. A critical component to biodiversity conservation is to understand the challenges urbanization imposes on wild populations."
In order for me to participate, I would have to provide the money, so I’m here and am looking for sponsors. I'm looking to start as soon as possible once I've reached my funding goal. The funds would all go towards the volunteer program for the fees and expenses for my volunteer time abroad.
This would mean a great deal to me, and I'm sure for the volunteer program that I'm interested in. Not only would I be making a difference in research on ecosystems, but it would make a difference in my life. It would provide me with life experience and training that I could use to further my education and career.
As far as my career goals and plans, I hope to use this experience as a way to learn and use skills that I would learn. I'm a lover of all animals, but love the orca and polar bear--both of which are unique animals and primary preditors in their ecosystems. My goal is to use the skills and knowledge from the expedition to use towards studying either the polar bear or orca. For the polar bear in the Northern America due to the ever changing climate in the ecosystem and how it effects the polar bears habitat or the diverse ecosystems in which the ocra can be found as well as the unique communication among the orca pods and their varying language patterns.
So, if you could please contribute to this cause, it would be greatly appreciated!
Have a good day/life!
Valerie S.
Organizer
Valerie Sours
Organizer
Anchorage, AK
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