Fifteen years from now I picture myself loading SCUBA gear...

Fifteen years from now I picture myself loading SCUBA gear into an old, beaten up dive boat. I feel the morning breeze dissipate from my skin as I pull my wetsuit up to my waist. The salty air whips through my hair as we navigate through the winding canals of a small tropical town until we find our way to the ocean. As we tie up to the bright yellow mooring line I squish my body into the rest of my wetsuit and slip into my prearranged dive gear. I take a deep breath out of my regulator and taste the familiar, cool, dry air. After strapping on my trusty bright yellow mask, I clip my slate onto my BCD. I waddle to the edge of the boat pressing onto my mask and holding onto my weight belt. I take one last swig of air and plunge into the†¦show more content†¦This domino effect would have continued until nearly all species were affected and a trophic cascade occured. As a marine biologist I want to be able to prevent events like these in all areas of the world. If a full trophic cascade had occurred in the Chesapeake Bay we would not have recovered for many years. Not only would we have lost a vital staple in our ecosystem but the local economy would have experienced a major hit. Thousands of people involved in the fishing trade, restaurants, and multimillion dollar businesses such as tourism and sport fishing would have no medium to work with and instantly be out of work. I want to work in shark conservation to keep both the ecosystem and economy afloat above and below water. My dream of researching sharks did not begin at an early age. During visits to aquariums I was always nervous when we got to the shark section. My passion didn’t blossom until the summer of 2012 when I had the choice to visit Bonaire for underwater photography or Fiji for shark research. Bracing my adventurous side, I chose to travel to Fiji. During this trip I spent tens of hours on the bottom of the ocean observing and admiring several different species of sharks. Watching a colossal bull shark glide through the water to gently grasp a tuna head from a diver made me