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Phoenix Islands draw Poway High grad

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A Poway High graduate recently returned from eight weeks at sea in the Sea Education Association’s “Protecting the Phoenix Islands” summer program.

Victoria Dickey, 20, who graduated from Poway High School in 2014, spent two weeks in preparation classes and six weeks sailing around the Phoenix Islands studying oceanography.

The program included sailing around and landing on the protected Phoenix Islands, which are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs located in the central Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Line Islands, said Dickey. The students in the program took water samples and samples of plankton, snorkeled, mapped sea mounts and took classes in conservation and marine management while on the sailboat.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, which was established in 2008, is home to about 120 species of coral and more than 500 species of fish. It is one of the world’s largest protected areas.

Dickey is an oceanography major at Hawaii Pacific University. She said she first heard about SEA’s programs through her school, where they used to be offered. “I thought it sounded cool,” she said.

While looking for something to do over the summer, Dickey said she went to SEA’s website and chose the Phoenix Island from the many programs on offer. “I read about it and it sounded perfect,” she said. “It was my exact dream, exactly what I wanted to do.”

Dickey applied for the program last fall and said she was excited to be accepted.

The boat held 40 people, including 23 students, said Dickey, from all around the United States.

The eight-week program began in Massachusetts, where the students underwent two weeks of classes, including conservation, marine policies and management and oceanography, as well as learning about the boat and sailing.

“It was nice because we got to make friends before we went on the boat,” said Dickey.

Following the two weeks in Massachusetts, the students flew to Hawaii where they departed from Honolulu to the Phoenix Islands.

Dickey said that she and the rest of the students got to explore three of the islands and snorkel in the surrounding water. “I really liked exploring the islands,” she said. “They’re so remote. Only one is populated and it only has 29 people living there. We got to meet them and have dinner with them.”

Despite the fun of the program, Dickey said it was a lot of work as well. “It’s mostly an academic program. We did three essays (during their time on the ship). It was a lot of work but really amazing, I feel very fortunate to have been able to do it.”

Dickey said that she discovered a new passion during the program- mapping underwater land masses. “We found a sea mount that was uncharted, which was amazing,” she said. “That was my first time discovering something. It was exhilarating. Apparently it doesn’t happen very often. We got the most beautiful profile of it.”

This program has sparked her interest in studying geological oceanography, something she said she might pursue in grad school.

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