Joe Summers '17

Friday night brought the end of our recreation day with a cookout on the beach. Jeff, Casey's husband, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us and the Dive BVI staff. As dinner then died down, the staff announced our involvement in a night snorkel before handing out high-powered flashlights. Awkwardly putting on my gear on the beach, I waddled...

As the last day after the bulk of our work, today was scheduled as a recreational period. We began the day with breakfast at Lime Tree's cabin, I had two miniature boxes of Frosted Mini-Wheats in the midst of a large buffet to limit the possibility of seasickness. Sea Dragon exited the harbor first following a short gear check,...

Our fourth day on Virgin Gorda proved itself as a catalyst of beautiful sights above and underneath the waves. The morning began with the refreshing view of sunlight landing upon the island chains and the endless expanse of blue sea drifting into the horizon, revealing improved conditions from the previous day. Plum cabin set out breakfast early, outlining the...

Today once again started at 6:20, and, after hitting the sleep button once, our group woke up to prepare breakfast for the other students and teachers. Little preparation was required; however, as the meal consisted of yogurt, muffins, and cereal. Thirty minutes after break we took our open-air bus to the harbor for the experiment dives. Our original destination...

Today, similar to the day before, began before 7 with very little alertness and excitement. After breakfast was hosted by our chaperones at Hibiscus cabin, a lovely meal of yogurt, pastries, and eggs, we meandered to the conference room for a presentation by Dr. Gore on the migration and conservation of sea turtles. The group then split up between...

On July 3rd I painfully woke up at 3:55 AM for the 7:05 flight through American Airlines. Outside of my morning ritual, I said goodbye to my close friends due to the lack of cellular connection in the area of our stay and hurriedly packed my small backpack with a book, my class folder, iPad, a change of clothes,...

Hello, my name is Joe Summers, today is the final day of our in-class portion of the Jesuit Marine Biology course. My visit to the British Virgin Islands will occupy the first week of scheduled travel; the two to my left in the picture below, Luke Lewis and Anthony Fischer, will accompany me as a part of my lab...