Grace Mann found herself in the principal’s office at Salem High School in Virginia, sharing news that he undoubtedly had never encountered before. Though she was a newcomer to the school, she informed him that she would need to take several weeks off. She would be representing her homeland, the Turks and Caicos Islands, at the Youth Sailing World Championships taking place in China.

Mann, now pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, was not only unfamiliar with Salem High. She was also adjusting to life in the United States. For the first 16 years of her life, she explored reefs, navigated the waves, and walked along the beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands. These formative experiences nurtured in Mann a passion for the ocean and, eventually, a mission to safeguard it.

Her father, originally from England, and her mother, a Texan, crossed paths in the early ’90s while they were both dive instructors before transitioning to underwater photographers and starting a family.

Mann credits her academic journey in oceanography to her parents.

“I can look back at the photos they captured in the ’90s and observe the structure and remarkable size of the reefs that were once there, in contrast to what I see now whenever I dive back home,” Mann remarks.

The post Beyond the Arch: From Sailing to Skidaway first appeared on UGA Today.