Final Week Sixteen

Writing this a tad early, because although this blog will continue to cover SBB content through my perspective until the third, May 2nd is the LAST DAY OF SBB FINALS!!!! 

To shake off some of these pre-exam and pre-presentation nerves, most of us did what helps us relax best: wake up early for a very low tide and go tidepooling as a group. All of us were scrambling on Homer Spit, seeking out any crabs or invertabrates we found remotely intriguing. It's so cool to see friends that grew up without going to a beach positively identifying so many types of tidepool life, it really goes to show how much we learn in the speedy 16 weeks of the Semester By the Bay program. 

We'll be presenting on the first and second which, as of right now, is in TWO DAYS! So although this blog update seems both too early and too late, I'll be continuing it once presentations are complete to give you the full story. 

Then, I plan on creating a Post-SBB page under the journal section of my site, that way I can talk more about the general semester experience once it's all done. 

Welcome back for the update! We did it!! 

All nine of us students have graduated the Semester By the Bay program, and received an Occupational Endorsement Certificate in Conservation Ecology. Presentations concluded with Megan Bell's final KBBI internship project- a collection of all our favorite memories from the semester. I'm not afraid to admit I cried over that; hearing the laughter in the background of all our voices recounting some of the most incredible experiences we've ever lived through just hit home. 

This was an incredibly emotional semester for me. I went two and a half months without hot water and basic accommodations, my car engine failed (notably, hundreds of miles from help), I've never taken this many credits at once, I had no job to supplement my income, and I worked my butt off for so many years just to try and make it into this program. Because of federal uncertainties, I had to change assignments worth around 30% of my grade last minute and submit late. I had to stop talking to some of my family for a while. And now, this final week of SBB, it's all hitting me at once; not only have I survived all this but I did it with a smile on my face and with great grades and with two thousand miles between myself and my home. 

There were days I woke up and had no idea how I would make it all work. Driving to Anchorage and back in a day to return a rental car, trying to budget, running club stuff, studying course content for exams and general knowledge, keeping up with lipidomics research AND personal research AND my internship... there were more than a few days where this all just felt impossible. 

But every time it felt impossible, I turned to my SBB cohort and felt motivated, happier, and ready to take it all on. I would think of Olivia, and how far she is from her little brother and how she works so incredibly hard to provide for him. I remembered Prairie balances being a mother of two incredible teenage boys and being a rockstar student. I'd think about Javin, who has lived in Homer long enough to go with the flow when you're miles from help (sometimes, duct tape just needs to be the solution you use). Madelyn cracks me up when we're both in over our heads, and she isn't afraid to dive into something that makes her a little nervous. Megan also didn't know what she'd be doing over the summer, what with internships and seasonal jobs becoming increasingly scarce, but she kept applying and sending me positions so we could figure it out. Even though Siobhan had never really worked with water quality, and was completely invested in water quality projects with every portion of the SBB program, she kept reading up on everything she needed to know to not just complete these projects, but to execute them with incredible levels of detail and understanding. Cory came from flooded Boone, North Carolina, and fell in love with Homer and the SBB program so much, they'll be here all summer and fall. Aleyna, who is literally from sunny and beautiful Florida, adapted to the cold and would tell us about her work with turtle conservation or the difficult process to immigrate to America and become a citizen. And Nyla... how could anyone feel unmotivated when the most knowledgeable person in our program had just been accepted for her freshman year of college, leaving the Alaskan lands she'd grown up on all her seventeen years to pursue a marine biology degree in Vermont? 

As Debbie and Ken pronounced us the 15th year SBB graduates, and handed us our certifications on the sunniest day of Spring, I was totally and completely in my feels. I am so freaking proud to have been a part of the 2025 Spring Semester By the Bay community. All our late night Alice's Bar trivia losses, study sessions, campfires, long talks, and game nights have molded me into a more hopeful, more appreciative person. 

Take every semester, and every day, with a note of gratitude. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, who make you laugh and make you wonder. Work tirelessly on the things you're passionate about, and take action on issues you have the capacity to change. Take pictures and videos to capture the moments of thrilling discoveries and munching moose, because each boring moment is as special and unique as the exciting ones. 

Thank you Debbie, Sara, Ken, Ross, Jenny, Kris, Josh, Natalie, and everyone else who makes this semester's fun possible. You are all true lifechangers and I look forward to seeing you again in the future.