Seth Dolan (UR) A Great Escape from the Great Lakes State

Seth Christopher Dolan, that’s my name, but my friends like to call me Dolan for some reason. I guess it just rolls off the tongue better? As of this Friday, the 25^th, I will be twenty years old.  I spent the first eighteen years of my life living in southern Michigan. A couple miles north of the Ohio border and just off Lake Erie's western shore in a little farm town called Bedford. Going to the Lake has always been one of my favorite ways to spend my free time. As soon as I was of age, I began to take our boat out on little weekend adventures to camp on uninhabited islands and sometimes even just the open water. My parents couldn’t keep me away from the water even if they wanted to. I come from a family of hunters and fishermen so naturally I grew up with an appreciation for the outdoors and the wildlife that inhabits it. 

Uninhabited Turtle Island in Lake Erie, Michigan on my Boat.

I was lucky enough to get away from the harsh cold winters and make the move to Ormond Beach right out of high school. I came to Daytona State College as a Physical Therapy major initially. After my second semester, I suddenly realized I was not interested or happy with my area of study anymore and needed to think deeply about what I wanted to pursue a career in. Finally, I realized what I should have known from the start. I wanted to study marine biology. It had always lingered in the back of my mind, but I always told myself it would be too hard or too competitive. Well, here I am now taking a leap of faith and going for something I love rather than something that is what some would call "practical" or a "safe choice". 

During my first year living here in Ormond beach, I have met some pretty amazing people. Specifically, my best friends Dalton and Tyler Dalecki and their wonderful mother Cindy who has become like a second mom to me. After my living situation fell apart, they took me in, and I became a part of their family and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. 

Dalton, Cindy, Myself and Tyler.

Fishing had always been one of my favorite pastime activities, however, Tyler introduced me to an entirely new realm of fishing for species I had never heard of before like snook and redfish and it took my love for fishing to a whole new level. I now fish at least four days a week. Whether it be for sharks, blues, jacks or whatever else is eating in the surf, or kayaking through the Tomoka River fishing for big snook, tailing reds or spawning tarpon, I am always out there. 

My Personal Best Snook (31").

Cindy was nice enough to put me in contact with a local paddle board company called Three Brothers Boards. I have been a tour guide doing paddle board tours for them around City Island for almost a year now and I must say it is, without a doubt, the perfect job for a college student to learn about how our local marine ecosystems operate and also to educate tourists on everything from sharks, dolphins and manatees to the harmful effects of plastics and runoff in our waterways. 

Last fall I took Mrs. Woodall’s OCE lecture course and I loved it. I am now in my fourth semester at Daytona State and I couldn’t be more excited to take part in this lab with you all. I truly look forward to what is ahead of us!