Rozalia Project Intern Blog: You Think you have Time

Michelle Levano is a student at Roger Williams University studying Environmental Science. Like us, she likes to spend time along the sea with her dog (Lola, below) and is excited to join Rozalia Project to make a difference... but also enjoy some time on American Promise with Hickory and Smudge.

“The Trouble is, you think you have time” – Buddha 

Coming from Long Island, my entire life I have never been more than the 20 minutes away from the water. I have always had a passion for the water; I have been competitively swimming since I was ten years old and was on varsity swimming on high school. Our family life has revolved around the ocean since I was young; even with transfer for suburban life I still found myself on the seashore monthly. The ocean to me is a mystery, which is part of the reason why I love it so much. I often like to compare the ocean to a human being; it has its hectic and calm days just like the rest of us. 

One of my favorite courses I have taken here at Roger Williams University was oceanography. The class really opened my eyes to the significant role that the ocean plays on this planet. This class really brought to my attention how in trouble our oceans are. Even in our own Mount Hope Bay, the ecosystem is currently threatened due to pollution, eutrophication, and increasing temperatures due to the coal power planet up the bay.   

 My first and only trip to the west coast was a very enriching experience. This trip led me to realize the drastic difference in respect for the environment between the east coast and the west coast. This is one of the main reasons I am interning with the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean this summer, in order to instill a more “west coast” view of the environment- one of respect and responsibility. People need to learn that the earth does not have unlimited resources, and what we do have we have to take care of.  Our decisions of today may not have an effect tomorrow, but later on down the road they will. If people do not stop to realize the importance of the ocean now, we may be too late.