Send-A-Pyrate-To-Camp 2012 Fund

As you might know, I spent my last school year enrolled in a virtual academy.  this experience has turned my life 180 degrees around and I began to think "What's going to happen after high school?", and "Where do I want to end up?"  After some thinking and research, and with my mom's help, I decided on what I want to do.  I want to earn a PhD in Marine Science.
There are a few things that could help me get into college, and also give me more experience with my passion for science.  Next summer, there will be 2 summer camp programs at UC Berkley and Brown University which are geared towards science and ecology.
I really badly want to go to these summer camps because I believe that I can learn a lot from the two experiences not just in marine biology but also leadership and character development (my mom says "not that he's not already a character").

Each of these programs is quite expensive and I have to come up with about $10,000 by February of 2012.  That is a lot of money but I came up with an idea.  What if everybody I know pitched in a small amount?  I calculated that if I could get 50 people to donate $200 (or $20 every month until February), I could pay for airfare and tuition without sending my mom to her grave early.  I will be saving $20 each month from my own allowance as well.
What I need from you is any amount of help you can offer.  So, you can go to my fundraising website here to read more about the summer programs I'm applying for next year and then donate any amount you wish.

In return,  I will do my very best to make you proud, and I offer my thanks  with a monthly newsletter written personally by me, that will include a summary of my school progress, stories about the volunteer work I may be doing at the Long Beach Marine Institute and the Cabrillo Aquarium, and links to my latest blog posts here on Salumaximus.  Best of all, you will receive an exclusive invitation to a donor appreciation/bon voyage party in May 2012, hosted by my mom.  Thank you in advance for your participation and consideration.

InTrO

 The early years of Pyrate Cap'n Frohawk Max (yours truly)

Hello! My name is Maxim Abraham Klaus Recke, but you can call me Max. I want to say a few things about myself. I’m 14 years old and pretty normal for the most part. I enjoy skateboarding, I play guitar, and I like hanging out with my girlfriend and friends. But there is one thing that most kids my age don’t have. I want to become a marine biologist, and I'll do whatever it takes to do it. I have loved the ocean all my short 14 years, and I’ve been fascinated by the beauty and diversity of the oceans. I see marine biology as a way to connect and learn (and hopefully educate) about the animals I call my friends.
Since I was a little kid, I would always be fixated on learning about animals… whether it was a special on Carcharodon carcharias (Great White Shark, my favorite animal) on Discovery Channel or the reticulated python tank at the LA Zoo, I would absorb everything I observed, and soon felt a strong bond to these beautiful creatures. My favorite week of the year was not the week before Christmas, nor was it the week of my birthday, but it was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel that caused me to jump with joy during the weeks before, and had me obsessed with learning and understanding more about marine life.
I hope you enjoy my blog! I would do anything to be a positive part of this esoteric natural phenomenon which we believe ourselves to be so well acquainted with. This is my passion, and my purpose of making this blog is to share it with you! So if you have any questions or comments, please leave it in the comments section of the blog! Thanks for reading!