Day 1: Welcome to Surf City, NC!!!!

We started our day at 8 am packing the vans in front of La Plata Hall. Shout-out to everyone for being on time!! :) (thank you parents). Getting ready for a 6-7 hour drive, we made sure that everyone brought snacks to share. The drive went very well, with no traffic for the entire day. During the drive, we experienced a variety of rural views and smells. Thankfully we all arrived safely and in one piece. We arrived at our awesome beach house at 4 pm and were able to check out the beach just across the street! Our house is 4 floors tall with more than enough space and ocean views for everyone to enjoy (shoutout to TI-Rentals for letting us stay here for the week). We have pictures of the house below.

After getting settled in our new home for the week, Mike, Helen, and Nicole H. went to the local Food Lion to get food for our first few days here. We were really lucky to receive a $30 gift card donation from the Surf City Food Lion, which greatly helped us with our food costs (thank you Food Lion). When they got back from grocery shopping, Mike and Helen started making dinner. It was really a group effort with help from many other participants that got dinner prepared so quickly (shoutout to the whole group!). Afterwards we sat down to a delicious chicken, broccoli, tofu, and rice meal. After cleaning up, we all actively participated in some group-bonding activities and got to know each other. We set some community guidelines and did a lifeline activity where we each shared the most significant aspects of our life that define who we are as people. It was a great activity to learn more about each other and prepare for a busy day ahead!

Hey, I'm pretty late!

Hi, my name is David! I'm a freshman Neurobiology & Physiology and Psychology double major. I'm really excited to get to help some turtles! My favorite color is purple. I like sports including swimming, wrestling, and football.

Over the past few months, I learned about how humans have been endangering the sea turtles. For example, Jean mentioned that people use sea turtles and their eggs as a source of food. Also, we are all plastivores -- those that eat plastic. Plastic is in a majority of all our food and cosmetic products, which eventually find their way into the water and into their systems and our systems. As a result, it is very important to take note of how our actions will affect the environment because it will act as a double-edged sword and ultimately impact us. I'm really excited to get to work with such amazing creatures!

Check Out This Tardy Girl!

Hi! I'm Brianne Redman, and I am currently a Neurobiology and Physiology major at the University of Maryland, College Park. I am really excited to have finally made it down to Topsail, NC (talk about a long car ride with some varying music tastes!). I've never been a part of anything like this- and I'm looking forward to working with the sea turtles, and hopefully helping to protect an endangered species.

Personally, I'm a big fan of playing and watching soccer (especially our UMD Men's team- they rock!), singing, reading, and being active. We're super close to the beach here, in Topsail, so I'm hoping the weather will cooperate and we will be able to enjoy it in the evenings. Tomorrow's going to be an early morning, but I can not wait! Hopefully we get to meet some amazing people- and turtles- and really learn how to make a difference in the current issues that these poor animals are facing as direct consequences of our actions.

Here's to a great week!

Look at the beautiful artwork drawn by one of our participants, Jesi Evans! 2 more days until the Terps Helping Turtles trip to NC! :) Get excited to help these magnificent creatures!

Hey, I'm Moaz

Hey there, I'm Moaz and I'm definitely ready to start spring break and have fun helping turtles in North Carolina. I love immersing myself in nature, its really peaceful and exciting and I think I'm going to have a unique and powerful experience to grow from.
I'm a Physiology and Neurobiology major, and that's mostly because the complexity and intricacy of the brain fascinates me. I've spent most of my life in Salisbury, MD and Ocean City isn't far away from there so the beach isn't something that's new to me.
Sea turtles on the other hand are. I honestly had no idea that they even existed near the U.S. I guess after watching "Finding Nemo" and hearing Crush's accent I assumed all sea turtles lived near Australia or something. I love chasing after new experiences, and while helping sea turtles wasn't on my bucket list, it sounds like a great opportunity to have.
I've volunteered a lot in the past, but the focus was always on providing human shelter, food, and necessities.A decent amount of my volunteer time has been utilized in providing disaster relief. Its interesting because I'm curious in how my acquired skills will translate over to this line of work. Its something that I will be thinking about during my break.
Its going to be a lot of fun, but during this trip I hope to learn about preservation of species and the environment, and also some of the finer points of what is required for veterinary care. After all, hands-on experience is exponentially more powerful than reading and watching any day.

Hello! My name is Gabrielle Welsh, and I am super excited to be spending my spring break volunteering with sea turtles in NC. I am a freshman biology and dance double major, and I am especially interested in ecology and evolutionary biology. I am very interested in wildlife conservation, and I have volunteered with The National Aquarium and other conservation groups. I am from Baltimore, MD, and my hobbies include dancing, singing, seeing Broadway shows, hiking, and other outdoors activities.
      I am very excited to go to North Carolina because I have volunteered a lot with tree plantings and stream clean-ups where I was helping preserve an entire ecosystem, but I have never worked to save a specific endangered species. With habitats being destroyed all over the world, it is more important than ever to preserve the biodiversity that we have on this planet, and Terps Helping Turtles is giving me the perfect opportunity to do this. I will be volunteering in a sea turtle rehabilitation center, helping injured and rescued sea turtles so they can be released back into the wild. This will have the most direct impact of anything I have previously done to help preserve the environment, and I am very excited to have been given this amazing opportunity.

Meet Kim Oslin!

Hi, my name is Kim Oslin and I am so excited to be going to Topsail, North Carolina to help rehabilitate sea turtles!! I am a freshman biochemistry major here at Maryland with an interest in a career in public health and medicine. I am also passionate about animal welfare and sustainability. I come from the suburbs of Philly in Garnet Valley, PA. Some of my hobbies include volleyball, skiing, and drumming.

I can't wait to volunteer at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital this spring break. This is a great opportunity to make a difference in these endangered animals' lives. I find it important that we as humans should help save these sea turtles because we have proved to be their greatest threat. I really care about the wellbeing of animals and am excited to have hands-on experience helping them. In addition to interacting with the sea turtles, I am also looking forward to working with everyone on this trip and spending time with each other. Here's to an unforgettable trip!