November slowly faded. Mom's memorial was nice and simple. We had sunflowers out -- more people came than anticipated and said lovely things. It was reassuring to know that people she was surrounded by thought so highly of her.
I returned to school in late November, a little more than halfway through the quarter. It was so difficult to return. I couldn't catch up, so I dropped everything except one class and one professor and continued working at Foster Business Library on campus. I was enrolled in a limnology course with Daniel Schindler and couldn't make myself give it up. It was enough work for me to focus on something other than what had happened, but not so much that I was overwhelmed. My head wasn't clear and it was difficult to pick up the same caliber of work I had been doing before.
Thankfully my family and friends were very supportive and encouraging.
After the quarter ended, the holidays came and went. It wasn't the same without mom, but my whole family traveled to southwest Washington to celebrate with us, which made it bearable. At the end of my break, I decided I wanted to apply as a research technician with the Alaska Salmon Program, which is run by the University of Washington. I learned about it while taking limnology and decided to talk to my T.A., who was involved in the program, about it. He helped me with my resume, cover letter and introduced me to the man who made a huge impact on the following months.
With a new quarter starting, I decided to quit my job at the library, so I could just focus on school and applied to ASP in the first few weeks of January. Not only was I taking a tough course load, but I was also jumping back into school full time, which was challenging because I was still trying to figure out how to deal with the emotions cluttering head. Looking for summer research opportunities was an escape -- I decided I wanted to major in aquatic and fishery sciences during winter quarter. Fish Biology confirmed my decision. I met Chris Boatright in late January and received a lot of encouragement about working in Alaska that coming summer. After weeks of persistently emailing back and forth, Chris finally told me that some of ASP's graduate students had received a bunch of funding from NSF (National Science Foundation) and was not in need of extra technicians, BUT he did mention another opportunity. Bristol Bay Native Association was hiring interns for various projects stationed throughout Alaska and that they did not have many applicants. He highly encouraged me to apply and said that my eagerness to get hands-on field experience in fisheries science might persuade them to hire an out-of-state hire (they tend to only hire local residents).
I applied, was interviewed and hired in April 2010. I've never been so ecstatic! I was hired to work as an intern with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Togiak, Alaska. I would be working with Chinook salmon on a radio telemetry mark and recapture project. I really had no idea what to expect, but knew I'd be exposed to a ton of new experiences. Chris did his best to prepare me. We met several times to talk about various topics including: camping out on the tundra, dealing with bears, appropriate clothing, etc. He was very adamant that I purchase the "Alaskan tennis shoe" -- Xtratuff boots.
As I prepared for my trip, I thought of mom daily. I had to sell her house. We had an estate sale. I busied myself with school. Winter quarter was terrible -- felt crazy some days. Spring quarter was fabulous because I was weeks from going to Alaska and taking all fish courses. I made the dean's list. My roommates and I were able to rent out the upstairs part of our house for the following year -- so exciting. We moved from a cave to cloud city!
Everything seemed to be fitting into place.
My mom and I talked daily, if not every other day -- sometimes just to say a quick hi, so not being able to share my excitement with her was tough. Luckily I have my aunt Coco. She helped raise me and is my mom's big sister. We are as close as my mom and I were. This last year would have been impossible without her love and support. The same goes for the rest of my family and friends. My roommates, Liz and Amanda, made the transition back to school breezy. Liz listened to me when I had to vent or cry -- she was always there.
As June arrived, I grew nervous. Unknowns were bounding toward me at a fast pace ... All I could think about was I hope mom would be proud.
June 12th I left Seattle ... What happens now?
No comments:
Post a Comment