SEA Semester: Personal Statement

I’m applying to SEA Semester, because I love the ocean. It’s been my dream from a young age to learn to sail and live on a ship. I’m from Aroostook County in Northern Maine, which is five hours away from the ocean. Every summer my parents would make sure I got to the ocean at least once, and I’ve romanticized it since I can remember. Since coming to Bowdoin, I’ve always spent my weekends biking and driving to the ocean, because it’s become a place for me to think clearly and escape the fast-paced life of a college student. The ocean has developed into my happy place, which is why I want to study it and understand how humans are impacting it. I want my undergraduate studies to give me the knowledge needed to protect our oceans in the future, and to be able to conduct research to expand our knowledge of the ocean. To be able to live on a tall ship and continue my studies of the ocean is my dream.

As an Earth and Oceanographic Science major at Bowdoin College, the courses offered at Bowdoin are more generalized for all earth systems such as rock processes, surface processes, and ocean processes. I want a more intense study of ocean processes, like the carbon cycle and biological pump. I am very interested the field experience I could gain on a tall ship. This is

With the chance to experience policy, and field research, I am hoping to narrow down the idea of what I want to do after graduation, or what to tailor the rest of my courses at Bowdoin to. I also expect to gain experience with different oceanographic instruments. My Bowdoin ocean courses can only supplement class time with small cruises up different estuaries around coastal Maine. A larger boat experience with larger oceanographic instruments and possibly larger datasets would better prepare me for research. Furthermore, I expect to become more independent as a result of this program, and confident in my research capabilities and