Every one of our Sea Turtle Camp students shows a strong passion for working with wildlife, and our December Marine Biologist of the Month’s commitment to animals continues to this day. Taylor Gregory attended our Marine Biology Camp in July and was inspired by the work of the volunteers and interns at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. While marine species aren’t plentiful since she is a few hours from the coast, she still provides animal care through the Paws and Claws Club. Taylor is both founder and president of this club, whose notable goal is to improve the lives of pets in the Charlotte area. This dedication will hopefully lead into a career, as she is interested in veterinary sciences. Regardless, Taylor will be around animals for years to come! Learn more about Taylor as we feature her as our December Marine Biologist of the Month.
Name: Taylor Gregory
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Grade: Junior at Providence High School
What is your favorite marine animal? Dolphin/Whale/Sea Turtle/Sea Snake
What is your favorite movie? Tarzan/Lion King
What is your favorite food? Pineapple
What inspired your interest in marine biology? There are two places I really feel that I can just be myself: in the ocean and anywhere with animals. Marine biology is both of those places. Also, I love marine life, it is so interesting and so beautiful.
What drew you to Sea Turtle Camp? I was looking for biology summer camps and also camps where I was able to volunteer with animals because that is what I love.
What is your favorite Sea Turtle Camp memory? My favorite Sea Turtle camp memory is tied between the night my camp buddies and I played nuke-em ( I think that is how you spell it) and the day we volunteered at the Sea Turtle Hospital. I loved playing nuke-em because it was the first time I had ever played and I was really good at it. Also when we were playing, it felt like we were a family, and had known each other forever. I loved the Sea Turtle Hospital because I loved helping the sea turtles. I saw how much I could really help them, and it has literally changed my life.
What kind of music are you listening to right now? I listen to almost all kinds of music except for things like rap and opera. My favorite music to listen to is country.
What hobbies or activities are you involved in? I play club soccer at the classic A level, I swim for my neighborhood team, I am the president of Paws and Claws Club, a club for the welfare of animals, at my school, and I am in Spanish Club.
What current conservation projects are you involved with? The current conservation project I am involved in is Paws and Claws Club. I started this club at my school, because I was so inspired to help my local animals because of Sea Turtle Camp. Paws and Claws is a club that is dedicated to helping animals in Charlotte through pet food drives, fundraising for local shelters, pet supplies drives, and forest clean-ups.
What would be your dream Sea Turtle Camp adventure? My dream sea turtle camp adventure would be to go sailing in the ocean to look for injured sea turtles or just for fun to learn about the wind and the waves. Or it would be to rescue a turtle from the sea or land.
What are your future aspirations? I want to either become a veterinarian, either small animal or equine, have my own show on Animal Planet teaching the world about animals, or become some type of biologist. As long as I have a job where I am around animals, I will be happy.
What would you do to change the world? To change the world, for the benefit of animals, I would stop at nothing. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to make the world a better place for animals.
