Green Politics: Blog #2

Hi! My name is Kristen Steiner. I'm a senior studying marine science and graduating in the spring. I attended the University of Maryland my freshman year, studying biology. I always knew I was interested in the ocean and after my first semester in college I chose to transfer the following year so I could study marine science. Before I get into my career goals I want to talk a little about myself and my background. I'm a very family oriented person. My family has been through so many hardships and I'm thankful that we came to be as close as we are. Having strong relationships is extremely important to me and I don't know what I would do without my family and my wonderful group of best friends.

I'm highly into animal, human and environmental activism. I've been a vegetarian for about seven years now and have involved myself in many animals rights groups, trying to take as much action as I can towards better treatment of them. I had two pet rats both named after cheeses; Havarti, unfortunately, passed away this past August, but Muenster is still healthy and cute as can be!

Havarti

Muenster

Being a vegetarian has made me actively aware of what is going on in the world with regards to the treatment of animals. This led me to see how other countries treat animals and find ways around laws created to help save the animals. For example, I am very interested in helping captive animals and banning whaling. I recently became interested in the shark fin trade. Countries, mostly Japan, are involved with the trading of shark fins in which they just cut the fins off the sharks and throw them back into the water to suffer and eventually die. They even go after sharks that are protected as endangered species but claim "they cannot tell the difference between shark species." My goal from studying marine science is to get involved in conservation and help save the animals that don't have a voice for themselves.

I also became interested in marine science because I care about the environment greatly. I grew up being taught to recycle and to treat the outdoors with respect. We rely entirely on our planet and its resources so I feel it's vital that we give back as much as we can. In high school I was the leader of a subgroup of the Green Team focused on river clean ups. Most of the harmful treatment of land environments make their way back to the ocean at some point and I don't thnk enough people have realized that. I've always been an outdoors person. I love to go hiking, running, swimming, kayaking, pretty much anything outside is of interest to me. I also have worked at a summer camp for four years; this past year I was the assistant director. I love educating children about the outdoors so that when they grow up they will care about the environment and sustaining it.

My final hobby would be arts and crafts, I know that sounds a bit childish but I love to paint and create decorative crafts to give to friends or put around my apartment. I've done a lot of glass painting and recently painted a cooler. It's a great way to relieve stress and express my creative side. Another way I like to destress is to practice yoga and meditation. Below are some pictures of my artwork that I've done recently.