Location: West End, Tortola
The program is starting! The program is starting! Day 1 is here, and we are (Go)Beyond excited to be welcoming our students aboard. We’ve been hard at work preparing Dallas Blonde — our wonderful floating home — for our adventure, and we can’t wait to get underway and start our service palooza. In just a few days, we’ll be fully (and safely) immersed in the community: restoring mangrove forests, cleaning beaches, and of course, turtle tagging. All we’ve got left is to welcome the most important members of our crew: the students! Hop aboard and follow along with our expedition updates here.
Meet the team:
Em (Co-Director and Skipper): Emmanuelle is happy to return to GXG for her fourth summer, having previously worked with the company in Ecuador and the BVI. She relishes exploration of the sea through oceanographic research and sailing and sharing that discovery with colleagues and students. When not at sea, Em pursues exciting satellite remote sensing work, revels in wide-open spaces, learns of aviation, and tinkers with old broken things. What keeps Em coming back to these programs are the students who tentatively step out of their comfort zone, only to find their stride and prove their “I can’ts” wrong again and again.
Dara (Co-Director and Mate): Growing up along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Dara has been drawn to the sea from a young age – a love that was fostered through her 2012 BVI adventure with GoBeyond. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with majors in ecology and anthropology, and she’s currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Studies, and Policy at the University of Oregon. When not underwater, Dara enjoys hiking, concert-going, and enthusiastic conversations about environmental justice. She hopes to pursue a career in international ocean advocacy, and she can’t wait for this session!
Julia (Medic and Mate): Julia has always loved the water, despite growing up in landlocked Colorado. She swam throughout her childhood and college. When she wasn’t in class or at the pool, she spent her time in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, practicing yoga or learning new crafts. With an adventurer as a father, at just one and a half years old, she was on a boat sailing the BVI. Since she has been on sailing trips with her family every few years, and also attended a summer Seamester program in 2019. There she was exposed to scuba diving, which deepened her love for the water. Julia studied Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University and worked as a Certified Nursing Aide. She has had many titles over the last couple of years in addition to being a CNA. She claims that the most filling was as an ice cream scooper, the most playful as a preschool teacher, and the one with the most sunshine as a lifeguard. Her inner adventurer and value for the importance of medicine decided it was time to move outside with her medical knowledge, and she became Wilderness First Responder certified. Julia is always looking forward to being in and on the water for the summer.