LEEP Introduction
and Proposal
By Dominic Rauzi,
Grade 10
Hello
my name is Dominic Rauzi and I just moved to Costa Rica this year. I was born in January of 1996 in San Francisco,
California. In first grade my family and
I moved to Ross, CA in Marin County.
This little town is located just to the north of the Golden Gate Bridge
and at the base of Mount Tamalpais, or Mt. Tam as the locals call it. I went to Ross school from 1st-8th
grade and then attended Redwood High School last year as a freshman. One of my favorite things about this area is
that my friends are all close by and that I can ride my bike to just about
anything.
I learned how to
fish when I was about 3 years old and ever since then I’ve been hooked, no pun
intended. So this means that I have been
fishing for 13 years, as I am currently 16.
I learned how to fish in Stockton, California. We had a second home on the Delta there and
we would visit almost every weekend. My
father grew up in Stockton and so his parents and one of his brothers lived
there, too. My Papa, my Uncle Frank, and my dad are the
ones who taught me how to fish. In fact,
my Papa was known for throwing all their scraps of food into the water below our
boat house so that a huge school of fish began living there. This made it super fun and easy for a 3 year
old to catch a fish. We mostly caught
Cat Fish of all sizes, but we also caught Blue Gills, Strippers, Large and
Small Mouth Bass and Crappie.
There are many
types of fishing. I have learned how to
troll, bank and deep sea fish and recently I picked up fly fishing. While I have learned how to do these types
of fishing, I still have a lot to learn about the skills needed, the systems
used, the equipment, the best bait or lure, best time of day fish are active, locations
fish like to hang out in, and how the tides, currents, moon, etc. all affect
fishing. Many people do not realize how
technical, meticulous and strenuous fishing can be, but I do and I desire to
learn more so that maybe I can continue with fishing as a career or as a
primary hobby in my adult life.
I have always
enjoyed the water and the animals that live in it and in fact it has been a
passion of mine my entire life. I love
all animals, but I am especially interested in fish and reptiles that live in
the water. I am aware that fishing is a form of hunting
animals, but I also feel passionate about safe fishing that does not produce by
catch or catch and kill other marine animals in the process of fishing for
another fish. So, one of my goals is to
grow into an educated and thoughtful fisherman who has a desire to not only
fish for beautiful fish, but to help preserve them and foster their growth and
existence. I also hope to be the kind of
fisherman that can teach others about conservation, just like Steve Irwin, who
I admire for his work with animal conservation.
I learn best by a
combination of methods. I like to
listen, watch and do. And if I get the
chance to do all three things, I learn at my best. Because I have Dyslexia, which means I have
difficulty with reading, writing, spelling and math, I have to be a creative
learner. For example, I have learned
that it is best for me to listen to books on tape vs. reading them for many
reasons. It is quicker as I am a slow
reader and I recognize this fact, and it allows me to concentrate on the story
and not have to worry about decoding the words.
Because writing and spelling are difficult for me, I find that dictating
to a person helps me get more thoughts out, more descriptions, a larger richer
vocabulary, and a longer story. In math,
I work best when I can do it in my head as it is harder for me to write down
the equation or solution onto paper.
Using a calculator also helps me to solve problems at a quicker
pace. When I work on the computer my
favorite tool is spell check. A lecture
is hard for me to sit through, but combine that lecture with hands on or
something where I can see or feel, and I will stay better focused and learn
more. I also really like doing projects
that I can work on at my own pace as I love gathering materials and being able
to pull it all together .
I would say that
the characteristics that best illustrate my learning style are visual (I like
to watch things being taught) and tactile (I like to do things with my hands as
I learn). Learning can be very hard for
me because of my Dyslexia, but I have learned to be proud of this learning
difference and to not let it get me down or trip me up. I know that I am a good advocate for myself
and I also don’t mind telling people about my learning differences so that they
can understand me and so they will not mind repeating things to me or offering
me extra help. My experience with this
has been that teachers, friends and peers have been very accepting and
supportive. For example, last year my
English teacher really helped me out by allowing me to listen to books during
reading time in class and to use Dragon Dictation during writing times so that
I could follow along at the same speed as the rest of the class. He also made sure that I was following along
and able to understand the book and if not, he allowed me to switch to another
book. This helped me to be a better student
in class and be at my full potential and by the end of the year, this teacher
ended up being my favorite teacher.
Being able to be a
part of this LEEP program will enable me to work at my own pace, study things
that interest me most, and maybe even help guide me towards my career
path. My current thoughts on possible
careers includes jobs in the areas of animals or animal conservation, fishing,
oceanography, or working at an aquarium or zoo.
I would like to
break out my LEEP year, which will be a total of two LEEP credits for the entire
year/all 3 trimesters, into three separate, but related sections:
·
Work for a Sport Fishing Company so that I can
learn about the fish in the ocean, the fishing industry, the skills, tools, and
knowledge needed to be a sport fisherman.
·
Work at a turtle conservation center during the
turtle nesting season in Playa Grande. I
hope to learn about the turtle’s behavior, their migration, their instincts,
how to protect them from predators and poachers, and how to help bring back a
healthy population to the ecosystem.
·
Work at a scuba diving company to learn about
how this is run, the animals in the waters of Costa Rica, the ocean floor, and
obtain my scuba diving certification so that I may learn to identify the fish
species and location of their habitat.
My goal for the year is to learn
about the animals in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica and learn about the industries that
support and protect these animals. My
Essential Question (EQ) is to learn how I can help these marine animals from a
conversation perspective. To answer my
EQ and accomplish my goals, I need to learn about, or how to help the
endangered and struggling species of marine animals of this area.
My
strategy for implementation and to accomplish my goals is that I plan to
volunteer and work at these 3 different but related companies (one per
trimester) and create and set up a blog to document my findings and experiences
along the way. I also plan to take
pictures and videos to help document the animals and the area. By doing a blog, I will also be able to share
my thoughts and experiences with my friends and family both here and back in
the states as my year progresses so that I can also spread the word about
animal conservation in Costa Rica.
Thank you.
Dominic Rauzi
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