Morgan Gallagher

Over the summer, I captained my own day charter on a 20-foot center console in the Bahamas, providing trips to restaurants, beaches, fishing spots, and diving locations. This role required leadership, independence, and adaptability, as I was running the boat on my own while catering to different people and their needs.

During my later years of high school, I worked at my local gym, where I took on a variety of responsibilities, including the front desk, equipment setup and maintenance, cleaning, and managing the gym's social media. This role gave me valuable experience in customer service, allowing me to interact with different types of people, and handle a variety of situations in a professional setting. I also developed a strong understanding of what performs well on social media by creating content that engaged the community and promoted the gym.

Last spring, I was a student on a 112-ft sailing vessel where I was completing a semester at sea program consisting of taking college courses, as well as taking on many responsibilities working on the boat. At the end of the three month voyage, taking us from the Caribbean to Tahiti, I was asked to sign on for an additional month as an active crew member to help deliver the boat from Tahiti to Fiji. This experience taught me not only what it takes to sail 8,500 nautical miles, but also instilled in me the values of hard work, determination, and adaptability, along with countless other life lessons that come from living and working at sea.