Cape Tech Student Heads To Alaska For Marine Science Program

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ — Julianna Romano, a senior at Cape May County Technical High School, has been selected for the Sea Otter Sound Coastal Academy in Naukati Bay, Alaska, this fall. The program runs from Aug. 27 to Nov. 9, and Romano was one of 15 high school students nationwide chosen to participate.

While in Alaska, Romano will explore the coastal ecosystems of Southeast Alaska and experience the region’s culture and natural environment, according to a press release. She will live with a host family in Naukati Bay, a remote community of about 140 residents on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.

Romano applied for the program after encouragement from her Coastal & Marine Science teacher and FFA advisor. As part of the selection process, she completed an interview and discussed her academic achievements and personal knowledge. Romano spoke about how Cape Tech’s Coastal & Marine Science program helped strengthen her interest in marine, environmental and natural sciences and prepared her to study those subjects in a different setting.

“When I found out I got in [the program], I was in total disbelief because of how slim the chances were of me getting in,” said Romano. “I called my mom and I told her, ‘I made it!’ in tears. My whole family, friends, and teachers were so proud of me.”

Romano has earned FFA and state-level 4H awards. She credited her teachers and friends at Cape Tech with helping her believe in herself and take honors and advanced-placement classes.

During the program, Romano will attend school while taking part in hands-on experiences that include working toward diving certification from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, studying Russian heritage, learning about foraging, studying sea otters, visiting oyster farms, boating and camping. She also will study Alaskan literature, history, geography, Alaska Native culture and science.

“Education at Cape Tech is so much more than what happens inside our walls or on our campus,” said Cape Tech Superintendent Jamie Moscony. “When students have the chance to travel and to study in different places, they begin to see the world from a new perspective. Those experiences challenge them, grow their passion for their field, build confidence and help them understand that there are possibilities far beyond what they may have imagined for themselves.”

Cape Tech said its Coastal & Marine Science program focuses on biological, chemical and physical principles tied to the environment and the species that inhabit it. Students study areas that include ecology, marine biology, oceanography, fisheries, upland ecology and aquaculture through lab and field work.