Tessa Horan was a Peace Corps Volunteer on the South Pacific island of Va’vau in the Kingdom of Tonga. While swimming in Tongan bay, a tiger shark pulled her underwater and severed her leg. As a result of the encounter, she bled to death. Her story will be featured on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week: Day of the Shark as an educational opportunity.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, my heart goes out to her family and their efforts to continue Tessa’s spirit of helping others. From the Aspen Times, CO :

On Monday, July 28 [2008], her story will be featured in a prime-time segment entitled “Day of the Shark” as part of “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel.

The show was produced to reveal “the science behind what triggers sharks to attack at certain times of day, and what rules humans should follow to avoid incident,” according to the Discovery Channel website.

But for Horan’s mother, Kristena Prater, the Discovery Channel taping was another step in the long grieving and healing process.

“You never get over losing a child, but it gives me solace to be able to continue her work with her family and friends,” Prater said. “Even in her death she has accomplished so much and been such an inspiration.”

In the wake of the attack, Horan has become a “universal symbol” for inspired young people like her, Prater said.

And Horan’s two brothers and sister as well as her father, Kevin Horan, other family members and friends have done everything from building the library in Tonga that
Horan dreamed of to creating community gardens around the U.S. and in Tonga.

See more Shark Week on The Conservation Report