September 23, 2014
St. Thomas Aquinas High School Alumna Emily Callahan (’07) was recently selected as a finalist in the $50,000 National Geographic “Expedition Granted” contest for her desire to shed a new light on oil rigs. With her Master’s degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation and as a graduate student researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Emily and her research partner, Amber Jackson, are diving into new waters- or at least they’re hoping to.
While oil companies have long been depicted as enemies of the environment, Emily and Amber suggest that they may not be as bad as they’re depicted or, at the very least, there may be a silver lining to their cloudy reputation. “Rigs function as artificial reefs. These structures offer shelter not only to sea lions and dolphins but also to many species of California fish and invertebrates,” stated the pair in their two minute video. “When oil companies decommission their rigs and remove them, underwater life will perish.”
"We took on the adventure of exploring this platforms off the coast of California and found ourselves transfixed by the thousands of schooling sardines, tired, but determined garibaldi defending their newly laid clutches of eggs and jacks hustling betwixt the beams. These platforms are rich with life and completely removing just one of these structures would result in the death of an ecosystem and a home to hundreds of species and thousands of individuals," Emily explains.
In an attempt to combine their passion for exploration with their desire to aid marine life, Emily and Amber hope to win the “Expedition Granted” contest so that they may travel and scuba dive in unique offshore settings. In doing so, they seek to reveal what lies beneath the surface of oil rigs and thereby show the world that such structures serve as important shelters to an entire underwater ecosystem.
National Geographic’s “Expedition Granted” is a socially fueled competition meant to discover the next generation of explorers. It aims to demonstrate that exploration can be performed by people from all backgrounds and with a range of diversified educations. If they win, Emily and Amber will receive $50,000 to advance their project’s goals. Beating out 800 initial contestants, the pair is on their way to successfully transforming their dream from an idea into a reality.
To view Emily’s video, to learn more about her project, and/or to cast your vote, visit: http://expeditiongranted.nationalgeographic.com/.
Located in Dover, NH, St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a coeducational, Catholic high school community where young people are called to be challenged academically, to stretch their hearts spiritually and to embark on a journey to make a difference. For more information, visit us at www.stalux.org or call (603) 742-3206.
While oil companies have long been depicted as enemies of the environment, Emily and Amber suggest that they may not be as bad as they’re depicted or, at the very least, there may be a silver lining to their cloudy reputation. “Rigs function as artificial reefs. These structures offer shelter not only to sea lions and dolphins but also to many species of California fish and invertebrates,” stated the pair in their two minute video. “When oil companies decommission their rigs and remove them, underwater life will perish.”
"We took on the adventure of exploring this platforms off the coast of California and found ourselves transfixed by the thousands of schooling sardines, tired, but determined garibaldi defending their newly laid clutches of eggs and jacks hustling betwixt the beams. These platforms are rich with life and completely removing just one of these structures would result in the death of an ecosystem and a home to hundreds of species and thousands of individuals," Emily explains.
In an attempt to combine their passion for exploration with their desire to aid marine life, Emily and Amber hope to win the “Expedition Granted” contest so that they may travel and scuba dive in unique offshore settings. In doing so, they seek to reveal what lies beneath the surface of oil rigs and thereby show the world that such structures serve as important shelters to an entire underwater ecosystem.
National Geographic’s “Expedition Granted” is a socially fueled competition meant to discover the next generation of explorers. It aims to demonstrate that exploration can be performed by people from all backgrounds and with a range of diversified educations. If they win, Emily and Amber will receive $50,000 to advance their project’s goals. Beating out 800 initial contestants, the pair is on their way to successfully transforming their dream from an idea into a reality.
To view Emily’s video, to learn more about her project, and/or to cast your vote, visit: http://expeditiongranted.nationalgeographic.com/.
Located in Dover, NH, St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a coeducational, Catholic high school community where young people are called to be challenged academically, to stretch their hearts spiritually and to embark on a journey to make a difference. For more information, visit us at www.stalux.org or call (603) 742-3206.
Contact:
Sarah Scheffer
sscheffer@stalux.org, (603) 609-1443
