Parker Liening '19

On day six of our trip, we participated in a large beach clean up to help give back to the local community. At the service site, we began by having a contest to see who could pick up the most trash. During this portion, I had the ability to learn about the different types of trash (marine debris versus...

On day five of our trip to the “big island,” we began the day by exploring and touring various businesses that are apart of the NELHA campus. To start, we went underground at the main NELHA building and learned how the deep ocean water comes from underneath the ground to cool the building. We discovered that although the method...

Day four of our trip on the Big Island revolved heavily around the exploration of marine life. To begin our day, each group boarded a zodiac boat, like what Navy Seals use, and headed off towards the open ocean. Before we even left the harbor, a green sea turtle was hanging out on the surface of the water visible...

Day three started off much earlier compared to yesterday, 6:30 a.m. to be exact. After a swift continental breakfast, we dashed off to the harbor to hop on the dive boats and get ready to head out on the water. After safety briefings and introductions, we headed out to our first dive location. Upon arrival, unfortunately, the currents were...

To begin the first full day our trip, our group set off to the Hawaii Ocean Science & Technology to explore various Hawaiian companies that our harness varying temperatures of ocean water to help expand their startup pursuits. First, we visited the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii to learn about how the authority uses both shallow and deep-water pipelines...

After a long and exhausting day of travel, we arrived at “Homes over Kona,” our humble abodes for the next seven days. Rather quickly, my classmates and I accustomed ourselves to the individual “hales” (homes) that well be staying in. Shortly after we unpacked and ate dinner, we received an orientation from the lovely staff about expectations and what...

In Hawaii, I am looking forward to exploring the differences between diving in Hawaii rather than the Virgin Islands. When we were diving in Virgin Gorda, the environment seemed relatively controlled and calm due to the low depths of the ocean itself. Because Hawaii has deeper ocean depths, I am excited to see how diving is and how I...

Out of all the days during this trip, my final day was by far the most rewarding and inspiring. Today, we helped make an extereme difference for about 130 kids on this island. On Virgin Gorda, there is only one public high school (Bregado Flax). To make matters worse, this school severely lacks funding. As a result, many basic...

After a delightful breakfast of dry cereal, I managed to drag my self out of my bed after after a 15 minute nap to head down to the marina with my classmates. By now, I've firmly cemented myself as the trip DJ resulting in me playing some killer tunes on the way to the harbor. As usual, my boat...