Grateful

Three years later we find ourselves sitting here with people that once were strangers. Where has the time gone? Tick Tock Tick Tock. As we remember all the good times. We all grew together as one young, niave, confused, and scared into wise, intelligent young adults in a blink of an eye. Upward Bound Math & Science... who would ever think that I would be here? Six long weeks in the summer dealing with new and old mentors, seeing old friends and making new friends. Then there’s the Saturday Academic school year. Rather than sleeping in on a Saturday we here learning something new.  Where does it end? Is it all worth it? Yes indeed, having mentors that’s always there for you and support from a group of friends. As it all comes to an end all that’s left to be done is to be thankful that I ever joined.

-Rithly

Monkey Jungle

To start off the experience at Monkey Jungle we did something quite perculiar. We went snail hunting. I thought we wouldn't find any because snails are pretty small and we were in the woods. But surprisingly we found about 10 snails, but we didn't just spot them and walk away. We had to measure their distance from us by using pre-calculus. But after the snail hunting we went to see the monkeys! To be honest some monkeys were kind of cute, others were so repugnant that they reminded me of a girl I know. But we almost hands on with the monkeys, they were that close. We participated in a behavioral activity involving the monkeys, we had to jot down what they were doing every 30 seconds for 12 minutes. It was a rather boring activity but the overall experience at Monkey Jungle was enjoyable. - Marckenson B.B.B.J. Dumelle

Pot luck XD

In our class we had pot luck; we would all agree to bring food that is traditional. At first we were going to do it at Bill Bags. Sadly there were mosquitos and they were attacking us like crazy. Especially when we’re setting the food down. While we were agreeing where to go next, we wanted to go to South Beach but our mentors pointed out that there was no time because we shared the bus with the juniors who had to be picked up from RSMAS and plus, there were no picnic tables. We finally had made a decision, so we packed up and went to Virginia Key Beach. Once we made it there, we had our pot luck. The food was delicious...Leandra's chicken, the rice and etc. Later we went to the water; everybody was having an amazing time. There was the usual, people being thrown in the water, the nice sandy sand in the sand (lol). With the hot sun here in Miami, normally it would rain but it didn't- we were lucky. After being there and having a good time, we all were tired had to pick up the juniors. Mainly we had a good time and enjoyed it especially that is our last summer.

-Denise XD

Pennekamp Key West

Early morning wakeup call ready to leave for John Penne Kamp! You would imagine after the first few time one would get used to it but not really. A long 45 minutes’ drive to Key Largo with experienced swimmers and newbies. You could just picture the faces of the freshmen: excited and eager if only they knew what was in store for them.  Third time is the charm with me being there my third time was no problem. I was excited to get back out in the deep sea to explore the life underneath surface.  When we finally get there we get are gear and set out into the ocean in the boat ride.  A 10- 15 minutes boat ride to a designated location where we will set out to explore the ocean. Were finally here! 1, 2, 3 Jump! With that said me and my swimming buddy was out in the ocean ready to adventure the sea. With a slight current swimming against us made it a tad bit tiring but surely wasn’t a challenge for us. Coral, fishes, and a statue was all pleasant to see all over again. Sad to think that it will be are last year doing this. Boom! Boom! There goes the sound to return to the boat. All settled and getting ready to go back to shore I just sit back and relax. Laying down thinking about how three years went by so last and the summer even quicker. What’s in hold out there for us the class of 2014? Where will I be few years from now? Many questions ran through my mind as the summer come to the end with the boat setting back to shore. Hmmm…    
-Rithly

Day of dolphins

July 25, 2013

Everyone drags their feet along down the hallway of the RSMAS campus. No one is ever excited for lecture day. Ever. The day started out with the usual craziness around the museum. A big blur of energy coming from kids 9^th through 12^th grade.  Felix was rocking Amanda’s spunky purple wig, which really didn’t look too bad on him.  We all hopped on the crispy, sizzling cheese bus. Our lecture consisted of the world’s favorite, adorable aquatic mammals, dolphins and whales. Though the presentation didn’t really have the typical pictures of trained, happy dolphins, jumping out of the water.  No, it was much, much more heart breaking. So much that one of the Junior females almost busted out in tears about 5 times in a row. Gladly, she pulled herself together.  We discussed the rehabilitation process of beached whales and dolphins. But our hearts just kept getting crushed when we found out that only 10% of the animals that are “rescued” make it out to sea once again. Then we experienced what the cadaver looks like for these animals. Then came 10 brutal minutes of blood, guts, tissue, scars, gashes, and dead animals, which was a little too graphic for some of our younger juniors. However, we didn’t end on a note that was too gruesome, after words the presenter gave us tips on how we could reduce beaching’s of these animals that we claim to love ever so much. All in all, the day was very informative, even though the presentation messed with all of our emotions at some point, it was still very enjoyable.

-Leandra J

Pennekamp

On Friday we went on a field trip to John Pennekamp. This in my opinion is the second most anticipated trip of the summer. It's definitely one of the most memorable. I say this because it's the only snorkeling we do with all four classes at once (freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors).
To clear things up, John Pennekamp is a park where you can go snorkeling, kayaking, and on boat rides. It also has a beach. When we went we were taken to snorkel around and see The Christ of The Abyss. This is an 8 1/2 foot 4,000 pound sculpture of Jesus in 25ft deep water. It's AWESOME!! If you like you can even dive down and touch the hands of the sculpture.
When we got to Pennekamp we all got our rental gear and got on the boat to our destination.

On the way to the site we're told about all the safety and emergency procedures and such, and what to do if you feel the need to puke (Yuck!). Once there we all got our gear on, buddied up, and jumped in. Again, it was awesomness... even though one of my buddies kept getting lost *cough cough*. Anyways, we all had fun, I didn't touch the statue this year but I did have fish following me and such. All I have left to say is awesomesauce :)

-Aminah

Scared Freshmen

Friday was the day of our annual Pennekamp trip. I had only been once before; I wasn't able to go last year. So I was excited to give it another try. The only downside was waking up so early. We had to be at the museum by 6:30 am. Ugh! Why so early? Don't answer, I know. It's a far ride up to Pennekamp.
        We arrive at Pennekamp and are told to run off the bus. I just woke up from a nap like many of the others so we're mostly just speed walking. We get our gear and make sure the fins fit and everything. After that we sit on a bench for further instructions. Everyone who's been to Pennekamp before immediately start putting on tons of sunscreen. We know from experience that the sun is our enemy while on the boat and in the water.
       We get on a boat and are driven out to a spot in the ocean. We get in the water and most of the freshmen are terrified. They have only snorkeled in the ocean where all they have to do is stand up and they'll be alright. You can't do that at Pennekamp. The water is like a bazillion feet deep. Their feet don't come close to touching the ground. They were in for like ten minutes before giving up.
        After watching the frightened freshmen, I went to touch underwater Jesus. Unfortunately, I got distracted by a school of blue fish. Blue is my favorite color; I couldn't help it. They were beautiful. When I finally decided to go back to the challenge of touching Jesus, they blow the horn calling us back. I never got to touch Jesus.

        --Nicole