Sanaa Benjelloun

Hails from: Casablanca, Morocco
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA
Favorite Place: The Ocean
Favorite Things to Do: Scuba diving, especially with sharks.
Favorite Shark: Blue shark, Tiger shark, and the Great white of course

What shark are you most like and why?
The Sevengill Shark, just like the Sevengill I am social, curious and more active at night, and I am very kind unless provoked.

How did sharks draw you into their watery world?
At 5 years old my father tried to dissuade me to swim in the ocean alone by telling me” there are sharks out there” “ instead of seeing sharks as the boogey man, I just wanted to know more about them the more I learnt the more I was fascinated; today I started Scuba diving to dive with sharks.

Learn More:
Facebook: facebook.com/sharkyoben
Twitter: sharkyoben

Short Bio:
I was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco.  My dream was to study psychology as well as shark biology, however, I chose to focus on psychology.  I studied Clinical Psychology in Montpellier in southern France and Pensacola, Florida. After graduation, I moved to San Francisco then to the big city of New York.  Of all places, I never thought New York would be where I would be introduced to the shark world. Fascinated by sharks since early childhood, I always thought I was one of very few people feeling this way about them, never meeting anyone with the same passion. Then Rob Stewart’s movie Sharkwater came out.  I suddenly met hundreds of people that share my love for sharks.  It was a bittersweet moment as I realized their tragic fate.  Right away, I knew I needed to be involved in shark conservation. My life changed that day, as I watched Sharkwater, and I knew I was going to be a shark conservationist. I joined Shark Savers and dedicated my time to raising awareness, outreach projects, and developing grassroots movements to help save sharks worldwide. I also have been involved in campaigns for ocean conservation with organizations like the Pew Environmental Group. I became a Scuba diver in May 2009 and got to meet my first sharks underwater a few months later, an unbelievable experience I would never forget.  Diving with sharks reminds me why I want to dedicate my life to saving them. Today I am a Shark Angel, dedicated to use my passion to spread the shark conservation movement and take it to the next level and work with other angels to make the depletion of sharks a thing of the past.