Reach
Wearing an orange fleece jacket, rain pants covered in last week's dried algae, and the world's most hard-core pair of rubber boots, I made my way across campus to the dining hall. Another grad student, clad in equally unfashionable field gear, was already crouched on the steps out front.
"I thought we were meeting at 1:15," I called out to her.
"I heard 1. But then again, they always tell me a different time. Maybe they think I'll be late because I'm Irish," she retorted.
"That's not true." I sat down on the steps. "Where are they?"
It was a good 10 minutes before they finally arrived - a mob of undergraduates from our university's main campus on a field trip for their introductory biology class. They were carrying notebooks and backpacks, chatting amongst themselves and taking copious pictures. They seemed like a fun crowd. At the teacher's direction, they slowly separated into two groups.
I took my group to get life jackets, informed them that they would not return to campus as clean as when they left, and fielded questions about my travels and my thesis. Every time I'm in the company of undergraduates, I'm surprised by how different it feels. Undergrads have a certain energy that grad students lack. They approach everything with a spirit of curiosity and discovery, and they're intellectually very flexible. They're interested in everything and soak up information like sponges. Actually, one of my favorite things about OIMB is getting to mentor and teach undergraduates.
When we made it out to the boat, my adviser, Craig Young, was already waiting for us. Craig and I had been conscripted to take the students out on the boat and collect plankton for later examination in the lab. With upwards of 25 people on a 42' boat, it was more than a bit crowded, but we made sure to have fun. A small group made their way to the bow, where they got sprayed with salt water in the strong wind, and they returned to the dock soaking wet and smiling. On the stern, Craig and I made a great tag-team, showing the students what to do and explaining concepts in alternation. We collected two jars of plankton - thick, concentrated plankton - and then pulled up a crab pot to show the students Dungeness crab, Cancer magister. We only caught one individual, but the students passed that crab around like it was a celebrity. They took photos of each other with it, and I think there were even a few selfies happening.
As I watched 22 undergraduates covered in salt spray laughing and passing around a crab, I couldn't help but smile. They were so excited about two jars of plankton and a single crustacean, but I knew this was nothing. I wanted so badly to steer the boat offshore, to a rocky reef not too far from OIMB, and watch their eyes widen at the incredible diversity there. I think we may have reached a few students, persuaded them to major in marine biology or at least spend a term on the coast. It was a lot of fun to reach out, show them around, and soak up the energy of these young, wide-eyed explorers.
"I thought we were meeting at 1:15," I called out to her.
"I heard 1. But then again, they always tell me a different time. Maybe they think I'll be late because I'm Irish," she retorted.
"That's not true." I sat down on the steps. "Where are they?"
It was a good 10 minutes before they finally arrived - a mob of undergraduates from our university's main campus on a field trip for their introductory biology class. They were carrying notebooks and backpacks, chatting amongst themselves and taking copious pictures. They seemed like a fun crowd. At the teacher's direction, they slowly separated into two groups.
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| Craig Young explaing brachyuran crab anatomy to undergrads. |
When we made it out to the boat, my adviser, Craig Young, was already waiting for us. Craig and I had been conscripted to take the students out on the boat and collect plankton for later examination in the lab. With upwards of 25 people on a 42' boat, it was more than a bit crowded, but we made sure to have fun. A small group made their way to the bow, where they got sprayed with salt water in the strong wind, and they returned to the dock soaking wet and smiling. On the stern, Craig and I made a great tag-team, showing the students what to do and explaining concepts in alternation. We collected two jars of plankton - thick, concentrated plankton - and then pulled up a crab pot to show the students Dungeness crab, Cancer magister. We only caught one individual, but the students passed that crab around like it was a celebrity. They took photos of each other with it, and I think there were even a few selfies happening.
As I watched 22 undergraduates covered in salt spray laughing and passing around a crab, I couldn't help but smile. They were so excited about two jars of plankton and a single crustacean, but I knew this was nothing. I wanted so badly to steer the boat offshore, to a rocky reef not too far from OIMB, and watch their eyes widen at the incredible diversity there. I think we may have reached a few students, persuaded them to major in marine biology or at least spend a term on the coast. It was a lot of fun to reach out, show them around, and soak up the energy of these young, wide-eyed explorers.
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