Marine Conservation Internship and PADI IDC Course in Mexico

I went on a GVI expedition to Thailand last year for two weeks with my school. My time in Phang Nga was beyond special and has left me with memories and experiences I will treasure forever. The GVI staff that assisted and worked with us were amazing and kind and excellent at what they do. GVI's programmes, from my experience, are exciting and impactful - they make a difference through thorough and ethical means which has allowed me to appreciate this company more. This experience with GVI helped me discover my passion and love for conservation, and for that I am forever grateful.

I stayed for 2 months in Mexico and did my Open water and Advanced Open water diving qualifications. The quality of teaching and professionalism from the diving aspect of the program was excellent. I had the trip of a lifetime experiencing so many different areas in Mexico, as well as seeing so much wildlife and megafauna on the GVI dives. I think 2 months was an optimum length of time as it allowed me to settle in and get the most out of the trip. I thoroughly enjoyed the ability to be able to do lots of science dives however due to one or two unavoidable circumstances wasn?t able to progress as far as might have been possible. There also was not loads of emphasis on the internship aspect and could have been more focused on that. Overall very much enjoyed the experience and would do it again. 

I actually left school in year 11 in 2012 as I was really struggling with my mental health. After I left school I did a bridging program named "Newstep" at the University of Newcastle. I achieved the marks I required to get into a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management but still did not feel ready to dive into my degree.  I decided to travel the world and volunteer in any programs I could to help out our wonderful mother Earth. I flew to Thailand for elephant conservation (2015), Africa for Orphan animal conservation and rehabilitation (2017), Belize for coral research (2017) and lastly, Mexico for a 6 week marine internship with GVI (2018). I always thought land mammal conservation for my calling in life. I realised after my trip to Belize that the ocean had my entire heart. It ignited a passion inside me I never knew I had and that was to do everything I can in my power to help save the ocean and all creatures within. I stumbled across GVI, specifically a marine internship in Mexico and I jumped right on it. I learnt so many skills, both in the marine world and leadership world, I learnt how to identify fish species and conduct fish surveys. I met some of the most incredible, like-minded and inspirational people that really drove me to go and finish my degree and do my part for ocean conservation.  When I did my GVI internship, it was my first year of my environmental science degree, so when I got home I knuckled down and had a successful first year of uni.  My last year of university was COVID-19 so unfortunately we were put into a lockdown. I had to reassess my end goals, which was move to Mexico and hopefully work for GVI as a scholar or dive-master and continue assisting in research. After my degree I decided to try and get into an honours program (which is like a master program but purely research based and only for 11 months) to continue my study in hopes of achieving a PhD position.  Honours truly opened up my eyes to the wonderful world that is coral and absolutely blew my mind. So much that I have just started my PhD at the University of New South Wales researching coral bleaching recovery rates across the southern Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. I love everything about it, I love working on coral, I love that I get to travel, I love that I get to SCUBA dive and I love that I get to educate people on what I am researching and meeting other people in the field.  GVI shaped and support my career goals in allowing me to have a taste of what life would be like as a marine biologist. In addition to being around to so many like-minded people that truly encouraged me to follow my dreams and passions.