During his second year, Tim White, a fourth-year marine biology student and captain of the UCLA club lacrosse team, spent five weeks participating in research focusing on coral reef ecology at a field station in Moorea, French Polynesia.

Just as White started his college career by going on environmental adventures, he looks to end it in a similar manner.

On Sunday, White will travel to Switzerland to train for a spot on the next excursion of the Pangaea Expedition, a four-year journey that was founded by Mike Horn, widely considered one of today’s greatest explorers.

The expedition consists of different journeys that Horn and his crew take with the goal of combining the thrill of extreme sports with environmental awareness.

The Young Explorer Program gives young adults such as White the opportunity to join Horn on these expeditions.

“Tim was a natural leader of (the Polynesia trip) despite being by far the youngest of the entire class,” said biology Professor Peggy Fong, who has been White’s mentor since his first year.

“He has clear, realistic goals in his life, and the dedication and intellectual capacity to accomplish them,” Fong said.

As an environmental enthusiast, White jumped at the opportunity to apply to the program and is one of 18 people in the world who will compete for a spot in the next expedition, which takes place in April on the Amazon River.

“I was looking for random jobs and opportunities, and I found this online out of the blue,” White said.

“I decided to apply because this is exactly what I want to do, and it combines everything that I am interested in. It has the physical aspect, but I am also really into environmentalism.”

Upon leaving next week, White will travel to the Swiss Alps, where he will learn information about survival techniques, first aid and sailing as well as about outdoor equipment.

In order to physically prepare himself for these challenges, White has done the thing he knows how to do best – play more lacrosse.

“It’s winter season now, so we are practicing about five days a week. But I have started training on my own as well by swimming more, lifting more and running more,” White said.

White’s preparation will be put to the test, as he will have to participate in a rigorous two-day, 25-mile cross-country trek in the Alps before the final candidates for the expedition are chosen.

White is hopeful that his sports-centric background will help him with the physicality of the training and the mental aspect.

An important skill the program stresses is learning how to adapt to situations where the elements are constantly changing.

At one point during the camp, the participants are dropped off in the wilderness with only a map and some gear and left to find their way back.

“Sports are definitely one way to test your ability to think under pressure and at the point of exhaustion,” White said.

“Growing up and playing quick sports like wrestling, and even on my other trips like the scuba diving excursion, I was able to learn how to adapt under pressure while exhausted and push to my limits, and that’s what this expedition is teaching us to do.”

But competing in adventure sports is only one half of the expedition. The other half involves a love for the environment and a desire to protect it at a grassroots level.

In addition to gaining experience through the immersion program in French Polynesia, White spent four months in Alaska studying trophic cascades in kelp forests with the goal of understanding the human impact on the king crab fishery.

While on this expedition, White spent time deep-sea diving in remote sites in Alaska and doing research in maintaining underwater video footage.

To the average person, it would seem that embarking on such a journey would be unrealistic, but for White, it has become routine.

“At this point, I am not surprised to hear about Tim’s latest adventure. Tim had no problem leaving NY for UCLA at the age of 17,” said Ann White, Tim’s mother.

“Tim is a rare combination of intellectual strengths, combined with athletic ability and a zest for adventure.”

White’s experiences have provided him with numerous memories, but he is always looking to what the future holds. If he has anything to say about it, a trip to the Amazon is in store for White.

“When you’re this close, I can imagine myself being in the Amazon,” White said. “I am going to do everything I can to get there.”