From learning 30 types of corals to tracing algae on Adobe Illustrator, my first research experience included fieldwork, gathering samples, traveling abroad, analysis, and invaluable friendships. If you’d told me that my first research experience would include all of that, I wouldn’t have believed you! This experience wasn’t just about learning skills—it was about becoming part of something bigger.
If you had asked me one year ago where I thought I would be this summer, I doubt I would have said slogging up a stream-bed in knee-deep mud, searching for springs. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
Three weeks for three different locations. And 105 total springs. To say I didn’t know what to expect when I accepted my offer from Keck is an understatement—I had never been west of Pennsylvania, and never had I ever seen so much water.
Have you ever wanted to fly? Well, diving made me feel like I was soaring. There is a whole world under the water and for a brief amount of time, I was a part of it. As the summer is coming to a close and school is quickly approaching, I wanted to share the experience of my first college research through the Keck Geology Consortium Coral research project.
I applied to the Glacier National Park REU not knowing what to fully expect and I’m so glad that I did. What I really loved about this trip is how much I learned about myself through things I did and experienced.
