Melissa Runsten
Paralegal
Washington, DC, USA
I didn't realize to what extent my summers on the Delaware shore shaped who I am until I moved from one coast to another to attend college in California. After subjecting myself to a year of pre-med classes, I left the idea of becoming a doctor behind and began my search for a career that would make me happy. What I ended up with was a rather complicated degree in Human Biology with a concentration in International Health and Environmental Change--with a special emphasis on that last part--and a minor in Creative Writing.
During my undergraduate years at Stanford, I studied at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey, and escaped Down Under for three months of "school" on the Great Barrier Reef. With a brand new scuba diving certification in hand, I got up close and personal with the world's largest reef system. The reef is absolutely beautiful and teeming with life, but what struck me even more than the beauty was the destruction. Dead coral surrounded me, the ghostly victims of climate change and pollution. While 40 feet below the ocean's surface, I decided that I wanted to do something to protect the reef for future generations.
I am now taking a couple years off before law school, where I hope to gain the tools to create policy change and to fight for environmental protection. Oceana is the perfect place to prepare for this career, and it is a very special perk to feel good about what I am doing each day.
