Den endelig personal statsment

It started off like any typical morning at the dive site. Just offshore there was a dhow, a traditional Arab sailing vessel, waiting for us in the placid turquoise water to bring us out to the reef off the coast of Mnemba, Zanzibar, where I worked as part of a dive team. While we were gearing up, a group of playful dolphins swam around the dhow, the first sign that the dive was going to be a special event. I already had a good feeling as I prepared to descend into blue, and I was not disappointed. Almost as soon as my eyes were under water, I was met with the sight of a curious whitetip reef shark, and afterwards, an explosion of marine life. Besides stingrays, sea turtles, and feathery nudibranchs I saw a multitude of reef fish: batfish, triggerfish, angelfish, and clownfish. During the next hour of the dive I saw almost every kind of fish I knew of that was living in that area of the ocean. It was like walking around in an aquarium exhibit. After the dive it was hard to remember all I saw because it was so overwhelming. It was if the collective sights of the fifty dives before had been condensed into one amazing and pinnacle experience. What impressed me the most was how seeing so much marine life at one time was like a snapshot of the entire reef ecosystem at work, each animal distinct in its own right, and yet at the same time part of something marvellous, something bigger. I then realized that the dive was so special because it gave me a picture of the whole intricate system, instead of the bits and pieces I usually experienced on a typical dive.
My interest in science is rooted in passion for understanding the physical world; to discern how organisms and systems are built and how they develop and interact. I had been interested in mathematics from a young age, and in school I was introduced to other parts of the science world. In my high school years, I studied a wide range of science subjects and decided to do my A-levels in mathematics, physics, and health and lifestyle. Besides my classroom studies, I also attended public lectures at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. These lectures included everything from the autobiographies of scientists and cryptology to the latest news about partial physics. My interest in diving, however, was more recreational in nature rather than scholastic. I always enjoyed being in water, either in a pool or ocean, and decided to complete a program in skin diving. In this program I tried scuba diving, and from that moment I wanted to work in a dive center.
Later, I started taking courses in order to become a professional diving instructor. I took my first course in 2005 in Denmark, and in 2008 I completed my dive master courses in Zanzibar, Tanzania. I have worked in a number of dive sites around the world, including the Similan Islands in Thailand, and I currently am a dive master in Greece. Through these diving jobs I have gotten to really know a new world. As a dive master, I often dive every day, and the more I experience and see marine life up close, the more I want to learn about the way the marine world works and operates. The more I learn about the marine ecosystems, the more it has become obvious to me that there is a need for better sustainability programs. It is sad to see how the underwater world is stressed by the humans’ world through over fishing, over diving, and pollution. I would like to give my contribution to a better understanding of the marine world, and to participate in sustaining that world instead of merely enjoying it as a diver. Although I began diving because it was fun, I now see my work experience as a dive master as part of a bigger commitment. I would like to learn more about the marine world not only to satisfy my interest in science, but also to learn how to best preserve the world I experienced on that unforgettable dive.



Dette er ansøgningen jeg har sendt til James Cook University, den er blevet til ved hjælp fra Tanya, en jeg har mødt fra USA, så mange tak til hende!