I don't know much about salmon. They're delicious, if that counts for anything, but did you know that sea turtles, like salmon, always return to where they hatched to lay their eggs? It's true- they've got tiny compasses in their brains that allow them to point back to that original beach. I highly recommend googling "sea turtle mass egg laying," you can see hundreds of these beautiful reptiles crawling up the beach as if they weren't the horribly endangered creatures they are.

Unfortunately for me, I've never been able to see this in person. Fortunately for me, I've been able to see a sight far less impressive, but far more meaningful: One turtle. It's not coming up from the ocean, but being carried back in. It's the most adorable sight one can possibly see, this turtle being held like a sandwich, its flippers trying to swim through the air as it's carried to the sea. It gets released in the shallow water and takes off like a Tesla. This turtle is not only special to me for being a testudine, but also because it was a beneficiary of one of the most incredible programs in the world: the Topsail Turtle Project.

This turtle was a resident at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (KBSTRRC) of Topsail Island, North Carolina: a turtle hospital that orchestrates a body of volunteers that save, heal, and release uncountable injured sea turtles that otherwise would have all shared a common, tragic fate. Having been selected as a Junior Intern from an exceptionally wide pool of applicants, two weeks of my summer in 2023 were spent supporting this work, a grand culmination, but not finale, of my lifelong commitment (obsession) towards turtles.

A lone turtle rushed into the hospital's surgery wing by a frantic volunteer, its shell cracked open by a boat's propeller, its vulnerable inner mechanisms exposed to the outside air, losing its grip on its life fast is one of the most tragic horrors I can imagine. As a KBSTRRC volunteer, I supported this mission. Thankfully, no such events occurred during my time there. I performed tasks for the benefit of the turtles and humans within the hospital, such as cleaning the tanks, bathing and feeding the majestic reptiles, sanitizing surfaces, leading tours to educate visitors about sea turtles, our influence on them, the collection of patients, and more. Besides relentlessly being splashed by a particularly grumpy Loggerhead named Snooki, the most dangerous action I, or any other interns saw during this time was the removal of a fishing hook from the mouth of a small Kemp's Ridley we found on July 4th and subsequently named Americanite. She was not happy, but she lived.

This passion for sea turtles was not born out of nothing, I've been visiting the KBSTRRC every year for as long as I can remember. I never discovered my love of sea turtles; it was a fact of life since birth. Whether it was my second-grade science project, convincing my parents to pledge to use fewer single-use plastics, or writing a story for my high school newspaper, I haven't been able to stop obsessing over sea turtles, and how to protect them.

I don't plan on stopping here. I will continue doing all I can to help turtles in perpetuity, whether that means dedicating my life's work to turtles, or supporting KBSTRRC and other sea turtle and environmental conservation efforts. This internship gave me valuable experience in caring for sea turtles, and by extension other animals, including humans. I have also gained valuable experience working as a team in a professional capacity. This built all sorts of skills that will benefit me for years to come, but to be completely honest, I don't care that much. I helped turtles. That's what's important to me.