NAME: Mailei Kalsrap

STUDENT ID: s11133104

In the South Pacific Ocean lies the 82 islands that make up the country of Vanuatu. A country with a
vast and diverse cultures and in one of those 82 islands lies Efate, an island that holds the capital
Port Vila, South east of Port Vila lies the humble village of Pango, a place I am proud to call a home.
Growing up with nature has aspire me to enrol at USP Laucala Campus in the Bachelor of Arts
Environmental Management.

Vanuatu is known for harbouring volcanoes in some of the islands which tourists come to see
however one thing Vanuatu is also known for is the cyclone storms occurring frequently. The 2015
Cyclone pam that wreak havoc in Vanuatu, the changing weather patterns and the effects of this
destruction on both nature and people is what peek my interest and thrives me and inspired me to
enrol in this program at USP Laucala. Therefore for me to manage and protect my native species
and ecosystems or organisms native to Vanuatu I believe GE201 may enlighten me more about
different types of ecosystems and organisms and how they are distribute in an area in order for me
to differentiate native species from invading ones. Invasion of species may be a big problem for the
native species of ecosystem of an area and may result in extinction of the native species therefore I
would like learn more about how to identify and differentiate native species and ecosystems of an
area from invading species that are not a threat to the native ones and also the invasive species that
may be a threat which may further my knowledge and come up with solution to minimize the
problem. Also I hope to broaden my knowledge and build up my confidence and interact with other
students from different island nations of the pacific to share information and also acquire
information and experience and their point of view of the environment from their perspective. This
would help me with building confidence and how to gain information in case the need to arises in
the future when I am working or collecting information from other people for other purposes and I
know USP may prepare me for that and I hope to achieve that when I finished at USP. My aspiration
for when I finished my degree is to graduate with an Environmental Management Degree and then
go back to Vanuatu and work as an Environmental Lawyer. The confidence I acquire while at USP
may help me argue cases to save and fight for the Environments safety and also I may be able to get
information to help conserve endemic and endangered species. However if Environmental Lawyer
doesn’t work out my second option would be to be a Climatologists so I can study weather and
analyse long term trends and get information by studying the soil, air or the natural environment. In
10 years’ time I would like to own a conservation park so I can look after endangered species of
plants and animals and keep them safe as well as I would like to teach people in my village to
conserve and preserve their foods during cyclone seasons.

In conclusion the environment is a very important aspects of all living things and mainly to us human
beings since we depend much from the environment than any other living things on the earth
therefore safe guarding it is what we should do to keep it safe so it can sustain us.