A DIFFERENT VISTA: PERSPECTIVE FROM A BURECS AMBASSADOR MOM

A year ago, I would not have been able to point out Antarctica on the map.

All I knew was that it was a cold place.

When my daughter Natalie told me she might have the opportunity to do climate change research there, I thought, wow. Cool opportunity. Great experience. It will look good on her resume.

And, maybe, I could even go visit her while she was there.

I did a little Internet research. Did I have enough frequent flyer miles to go visit her for a week? I couldn’t seem to find direct flights to Antarctica. I dug a little deeper. There are no hotels in Antarctica.

Yes, I was clueless.  This was not her mother’s study abroad semester.

Antarctic Reflections

A frozen pond on Mount Discovery

Well, the Antarctic adventure is over - and what an adventure it was! I've had some time to settle in, and reflect on my experiences. It's crazy to think that two months ago I was at the bottom of the world hiking the wild beauty of Antarctica. It feels like my time there came and went like a whirlwind. Yet, in that short period of time I learned so much. Being in that environment allowed me to witness so many talented professionals work, especially our fearless leader Drew who's research we helped conduct. After working on this project, I feel confident that I have grown in my abilities to conduct scientific research. But beyond that, I feel confident that I have grown as a person. Between surviving 3 day snowstorms in nothing but a tent and hauling boxes of rocks on and off the flying death traps that are helicopters... I realized that with a little hard work and some awesome companions, I can survive anything.