For what reason do elephant seals come ashore during the spring and summer? This and many other ocean questions are asked at competitions of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. I enjoy academic competitions like this because they allow me to share the knowledge I have accumulated over the years. In April 2016, myself and several friends travelled to Morehead City, North Carolina, to compete in the national competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Earlier, in February, we had emerged victorious in our regional “Trout Bowl” after narrowly defeating our high school’s second team. After flying from Denver to Raleigh and a three hour bus ride to the coast, we arrived at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort for dinner and a tour. As the biology expert on our Ocean Bowl
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Other captivating speakers spoke about marine archaeology and fish marketing. The next day, competitors from coast to coast split into groups and departed for field trips. My group travelled to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls for a behind-the-scenes tour. I was captivated by the many sea turtles that had been recently rescued. While I was there, I tried to soak up in as much information as possible in preparation for our upcoming competition. On the third day, our competition finally began. Though we initially lost to a team from California, we trounced teams from Florida, Connecticut, and Maryland. Then came the Science Expert Briefing. Earlier in the year, we had been given a piece of potential legislation, specifically, the “Waterfront Community Revitalization and Resiliency Act”. Our task was to make recommendations as a specific stakeholder and present them to a mock congressional hearing. Much to our surprise, we placed second overall in the Science Expert Briefing. After we secured our place in the double elimination round, our team, shuttled by a team of parents, travelled to a local seafood restaurant to discuss the competition so far and practice in
Other captivating speakers spoke about marine archaeology and fish marketing. The next day, competitors from coast to coast split into groups and departed for field trips. My group travelled to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls for a behind-the-scenes tour. I was captivated by the many sea turtles that had been recently rescued. While I was there, I tried to soak up in as much information as possible in preparation for our upcoming competition. On the third day, our competition finally began. Though we initially lost to a team from California, we trounced teams from Florida, Connecticut, and Maryland. Then came the Science Expert Briefing. Earlier in the year, we had been given a piece of potential legislation, specifically, the “Waterfront Community Revitalization and Resiliency Act”. Our task was to make recommendations as a specific stakeholder and present them to a mock congressional hearing. Much to our surprise, we placed second overall in the Science Expert Briefing. After we secured our place in the double elimination round, our team, shuttled by a team of parents, travelled to a local seafood restaurant to discuss the competition so far and practice in