My name is Calvin Harold. I am 20 years old, and a junior at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, where I major in Business Administration and minor in Sports Management. My whole life, I have been connected to Virginia, as I grew up just south of Washington, D. C. in Arlington, Virginia. My mom and dad moved here 32 years ago in 1992, and my aunt and uncle have lived here for a similar amount of time. My immediate family is spread all around the Commonwealth, as two of my sisters live or go to college in central and south Virginia, with my older sister living in Charlottesville and my younger sister going to school at Virginia Tech. With Virginia being home to my family for decades, its issues are our issues, and thus are mine as well.
Growing up, I have always been interested in the environment, and the dynamic that human activity has with the environment’s health. I always cared deeply about nature and the rising issue of global warming. After hearing about how a small community such as Tangier, a town in my own home state, is affected by the issue in one of my classes, I was instantly drawn to their case.
Learning about the rising sea level and the sinking island was very interesting to me, and I got a great insight on possibly one of the earliest American communities to be washed away due to the rising sea levels. For a long time, this is a problem that I have always thought would affect poorer island countries before anyone else, so to see it take place in my home state was surprising to me.
This project opened my eyes to climate change’s ugly truth like nothing has in the past. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this case and hope Tangier solves its issues.