Clockwise from left: view from Millers Landing outside Seward, AK. Me hiking in Kenai Fjords National Park with the Inspiring Girls Expeditions group in 2022. The three classes of macroalgae- green, brown, and red- selected from wrack on Constellation Beach, WA.
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Follow along with my journey to a bachelor's of science in Natural Science through the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Follow along with my journey to a bachelor's of science in Natural Science through the University of Alaska Anchorage.
I'm working through a bachelor's in Natural Science, with a concentration in Environmental Science, along with a minor in English (Professional Writing) and a minor in Cultural and Natural Resource Management. The Semester By the Bay program (SBB) allowed me to earn an Occupational Endorsement Certificate in Conservation Ecology, which will help me gain employment in ecological fields (such as planning, management, or advocacy). Programs like this are why I left my home state, Washington, to pursue my degree in Alaska!
Originally from Portland, I grew up exploring the Pacific Northwest. A field trip to the state capitol in the sixth grade introduced me to legislative advocacy. Presenting non-lethal ways to deter gray wolves (a keystone species) to Gov. Kate Brown at this field trip was the inception of considering natural resource management as a career. Since then, I've worked hard to direct my focus to become a well-rounded environmental scientist and community advocate, with hopes of working in some aspect of natural resource management and/or policy. I do my best to take my camera everywhere and document my journey and the wildlife around me!
Scroll down to learn more about the organizations that have made an impact on me... maybe they'll help you, too!
Scroll down to learn more about the organizations that have made an impact on me... maybe they'll help you, too!
Clockwise from top left: a view of an autumn sunset from Homer Spit, Homer AK. Virgin Creek Falls in Girdwood, AK. Enhydra lutris, a sea otter, grooms itself off the coast of Seward, AK.
Clockwise from top right: a friend learns telemetry by tracking a moose collar in downtown Homer; likely a burrowing anemone, Anthopleura artemisia, on Bishops Beach, AK; the view of Homer Spit from a boat heading into the Gulf of Alaska for fieldwork.
What is Semester By the Bay?
What is Semester By the Bay?
Semester By the Bay is a 15-16 week intensive university program offered through the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and the Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska. With the guidance of Dr. Debbie Tobin and Dr. Kenneth Goldman, students learn through full-time, upper-level science courses and hands-on fieldwork. An internship is also assigned to each student pursuing an Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC). The fall semester focuses on Marine Mammal Biology while the spring focuses on Conservation Ecology; completing all coursework, internships, capstone projects, etc. with high quality will earn students an OEC in the term-appropriate subject. Students may be undergraduates, graduates, or recently-graduated, and the program size (typically around ten students) helps participants get the most out of their Semester. SBB is open to students from all over the US, as well as international students with the ability to study in Alaska.
Clockwise from left: The 2022 Girls on Icy Fjords crew in front of Northwestern Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, AK, photo courtesy of Suzanne Winquist. Sun highlights the peaks of mountains behind our first campsite on Southwestern Glacier Landing Beach. My colleagues kayaking ahead of me en route to study murres and other wildlife along the day trip from Southwestern Glacier Landing Beach to Sunlight Glacier Landing Beach.
What is Inspiring Girls Expeditions?
What is Inspiring Girls Expeditions?
Inspiring Girls Expeditions (IGE) was started in 2010 by Dr. Erin Pettit in an effort to provide more girls with STEM and STEAM experience before leaving high school. Now, fifteen expeditions (including Expeditions at home) are offered in multiple nations and welcomes cisgender, transgender, agender, Two Spirit, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer teens for tuition-free hands-on science education. My particular study-- Girls in Icy Fjords-- took place in Kenai Fjords National Park, AK with focus on climatology, glaciology, and marine biology. The two weeks of backcountry kayak camping gave us the opportunity to become close with mentors of all ages and scientific backgrounds. Our self-designed experiments were cut short due to extreme weather conditions which forced our evacuation as a team; Miller's Landing Water Taxi Service graciously picked us up with warm drinks and we spent a few nights at the Alaska Sea Life Center before presenting our findings to the community. After the National Science Foundation-funded experience, girls are encouraged to stay in touch through their post-high school adventures, and seek support or environmental opportunities through the IGE community.
Donate to Inspiring Girls Expeditions to help supplement the loss of USGS, NSF, NOAA, and other federal agency funding! With the arrival of the Trump Administration, many environmental protections have been rolled back with little consideration to scientific progression. Furthermore, actions such as federal funding freezes and reversal of any DEI-related programs (such as efforts to get underrepresented youth experience in field science) have resulted in many students facing uncertain futures. No student should be left without the opportunity to pursue a career in the sciences!
Clockwise from top left: the 2023/24 C4 logo, me in costume for the Anchorage Haunted Halloween with a game about invasive species (photo courtesy of Louie Jovanovich), and PhD candidate Emily Cohen presents "the Psychological Impact of Climate Change on Alaskans" at the 2nd Annual Climate Change Conference.
What is the Combat Climate Change Club?
What is the Combat Climate Change Club?
Founded first as LESS CO2 (which, believe it or not, stands for Lower Emissions for a Secure and Stable Climate through Organization and Outreach) in 2022, we are UAA's only club focused on sustainability! Douglass Bourne, eco-minded assistant professor of writing, has been advisor to the club since graduate student Cameron Khule, and undergrads Megan Newcomb, Patrick Moses Jr., and myself helped revive and re-register LESS CO2 to continue sustainability work on campus that had died out during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we've published sustainable gift guides, hosted movie nights, initiated composting for UAA's cafeteria, and provided community members with a platform to find solutions and support for their environmental concerns. Membership has grown steadily each year and we hope to gain a larger audience each year for our annual UAA Conference on Climate Change and Sustainability. Contact us using the email below to be included!
For UAA students: JOIN THE CLUB! Click on the links below to be added to the C4 Discord or SeawolfLife to get updates or be a part of the sustainability movement in Anchorage!
Learn more about C4 by reaching out to the email below.
Learn more about C4 by reaching out to the email below.
Clockwise from top left: me ready to explore the Portland Audubon Society's many trails and learn about conservation and wildlife rehabilitation, my graduating class (8th grade) with our two teachers, and me with some of my closest friends shortly before whitewater rafting on a field trip (no, that's not a typo... we went whitewater rafting to celebrate excellent academic work and collaboration within and without class walls. CVCS absolutely rocks!) all photos by Melinda Jared.
What is City View Charter School?
What is City View Charter School?
Once a 65 person alternative to public school in a rented church, City View Charter School (CVCS) has expanded their impact on the Hillsboro, OR community and now boasts hundreds of students (K-8th) all following the expeditionary learning pathway. Modeled after the Outward Bound school system, the EL approach allows students to truly learn content in the classroom, through hands-on activities, and in the field. CVCS, its tight-knit community, and limitless experiences gave me the drive to pursue university, SBB, and more. Field trips to the Bonneville Dam, Olympic National Park, Westwind Outdoor School, Portland Art Museum, OMSI, Oregon State Capitol, Mount St. Helens, Fort Clatsop, Jackson Bottom Wetlands, and more had me thrown into the history, humanities, sciences, and arts to be more involved and get excited about knowing my community. I volunteered with the kindergarten class for four years, was a part of student government nearly every year, and learned leadership skills beginning on day one. The school motto really says it all; here, we are crew, not passengers.
I cannot overstate the importance City View had on me as a child entering Kindergarten and as a teen leaving a ten-person 9th grade class for high school.
The teachers I had were: (K) Ms. Cindy Lauper, (1st) Ms. Andi Reohr, (2nd) Ms. Stefanie Baker, (3rd) Ms. Sarah, (4th) Ms. Kaylin Dodge, (5th) Ms. Kendra Scott, (6th) Ms. Tonya Mauk who referred me to UAA and SBB, (7th/8th) Mr. Anthony Wynne and Ms. Kellie Caparula. Other leaders from the community include (in no particular order) Mr. Jeff Hays, Ms. Becky Mills, Ms. Becky Tengs, Ms. Kimberly Reitmeier, and the late Ms. Nancy. I genuinely wouldn't be where I am today without the smiles, the support, the encouragement, and the love I felt being a part of the CVCS community. I will continue to mention City View's impact on me during my endeavors in Alaska, in Congressional meetings, and beyond.
"We are crew, not passengers."
"We are crew, not passengers."
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