About Us
About Us
B
a c k g r o u n d
The Palisades High School A.P. Biology Marine Research Team will be on St. John April 10 to April 17, 2001. The goal of the program is to introduce all aspects of reef and island ecology to the A.P. Biology students. This educational effort will promote an understanding of the fragileness and beauty of this unique system. Each year beginning in September the students enroll in the A.P. Biology class at Palisades High School begin a review of the work done on the island in the past year. Team leaders are selected from the previous year to coordinate the project for incoming students. This year six team leaders were chosen to organize the forty-one new incoming team members. Students study phylogenetics, island botany, and geology. Over the years, the group has been recognized with numerous awards on both the regional and national level. Many of our kids have gone on to further studies in biology and ecology at both the college and graduate school levels. To date, over four hundred students have participated in the program. To finance the program, fundraising is conducted. The program price per student is $750. This includes airfare, lodging at Maho Bay, and food expenses. The group is funded by contacting local businesses and community members for sponsorship. Donors become contributing businesses, sponsoring businesses, or environmental partner to the group. As money is donated, it goes to building student accounts until our funding goals are met. All chaperones and teachers pay their own expenses. The group is a registered Boy Scout Educational Troop and the boy scouts carry the insurance for the group. Our chaperones represent a variety of areas of expertise and their biographies can be found below. We are particularly grateful to the folks at Maho for their continuing support of our group and also wish to thank all of our sponsors and environmental partners.
2 0 0 1 R e s e a r c h T e a m
T e a m L e a d e r s
Jason Lamontagne -
Where should I begin? I am among the elite seniors who were asked to return to the islands as group leaders. Along with my many interests in science I also am involved with student government, soccer, and track. I plan to continue my education and pursue a career in medicine.
Andrew Brodbeck -
This is the second year that I have visited the Virgin Islands. Last year, I was part of the research team and this year I have come along as a student leader. In my free time I enjoy playing sports. I play both soccer and baseball for the high school. After high school, I plan on continuing my education. I will be attending Penn State University, at main campus, and will be majoring in some field of engineering.
Katie Skow -
I was privleged enough to be chosen to return to the Virgin Islands with the AP Bio class as one of the senior student leaders. I love to play soccer and I play on the high school varsity team. After high school, I will be attending Penn State Universityıs main campus and I hope to become a first grade teacher some day.
Brianna Lindsay -
I am incredibly happy to be experiencing this trip for the second time and hope I can help all the AP students as much as possible. When Iım not having a great time in the islands, I enjoy playing tennis and pretty much any activity that gets me outside. After graduation I will hopefully be doing some traveling, then plan on heading off to college to continue my education and begin a career in the sciences.
Melody Mumbauer -
This is the second year that I have been able to join the AP Biology class on itsı annual trip to the Virgin Islands. Last year I went as a student and this year I am returning as a student leader. Other then snorkeling around the bays of St. John, I enjoy playing soccer and field hockey and hanging out with my friends, along with going to school. Next fall I plan to head off to Ursinus College where I plan to play soccer and major in business and economics or sociology.
Emily Roszkowski -
I feel very honored to be able to participate in the AP Bio trip another time. This year I came as a team leader, while last year I too had to take the class and endure the prior and post work for the educational expedition. During school, I take part on the varsity track and field team. Although I am not totally sure what I will be doing after graduation, I know I will either be attending Penn State University, Main Campus or West Chester University as an undeclared major.
Kyle Trauger -
I am on St. John for the second time; only this time as a team leader. I am involved in many school activities, including chorus, student government and sports. After attending high school, I am going to Rider University to study business administration. Upon graduating from college, I will manage the funds of Lamontagne Pharmaceuticals and make millions.
C h a p e r o n e s
Mark Chilton - This is my first year leading the trip, although I have a history of involvement. I was actually a student on the first trip that Pat Peterson organized. Last year I came for a second time as a chaperone and instructor. In Pat Peterson's absence, I assumed responsibility for the trip. I would like to try to make improvements on an already excellent trip.
Chad Hauze - I work as a Network Administrator for IBM Global Services. Previously I was a math teacher at Palisades and before that a member of the research team in 1994 and 1995 when I was a student. Last year was our first attempt at using a website and the Internet to communicate with the outside world while on St. John. It met with great success. This year my goal is for the team to provide even more information to the world, not only in the form of text and picture but with small video clips. Keep checking the site throughout the week to share in our experiences.
Diane Allison - This is my seventh trip as a chaperone on this Island adventure. In my other life, I work in microbiological quality control for Ortho BioTech. I am a bird watching addict in my spare time and also enjoy backpacking and nature photography. I began coming on this trip when my son was a senior, and have enjoyed the experience ever since. The students are great, the trip is definitely not a vacation - they are learning and working from 7 AM til 9 PM... and then we all sleep pretty well! (Most of the time...)
Dave Allison - I have been a chaperone on this trip for the last six years. Diane and I have two kids that have gone through the AP bio program and have gained a better understanding of the natural world because of the trip. I work for Johnson and Johnson in the science field, and enjoy fishing camping and working on my antique car. I feel privileged to be a chaperone on this trip for as long as I have, and look forward every year to explore the island and learn new things with the students.
Tat Moyer - This is my first year to accompany the AP Bio trip. As a school board member and a retired elementary school teacher, I was thrilled to be asked to help with the trip. I hope that this will be the first of several trips for me.
Angela Kratz - This is my first year involved in the A.P. Biology Trip. I am a second year teacher at Palisades High School, and I teach Human Anatomy and Physiology as well as ninth grade biology. I hope to bring my experiences from this trip back to my classroom.