An institution centered around sustainability and safety, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is an innovative place where students and scientists alike come for polar education and research. During my stay in Longyearbyen, Norway, I was lucky enough to receive a tour of UNIS facilities from Arctic Biology Department Head Professor Børge Damsgård. UNIS was established in […]
Category: Scholar Journeys
Lights, Camera…Now What?
Perhaps one of the most important parts of the scholarship year is learning to take underwater photos and videos – without these skills it is impossible to document all of the incredible experiences! Since we were relative novices with our cameras and rigs, European Scholar Mae and I headed off early in our year to Denmark, […]
New York to Pennsylvania to Denmark to…the Arctic?!
Hello from the North Pole! Well…almost. I’m writing from Longyearbyen, which is located in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. It also happens to be the world’s northernmost settlement. It has been quite the journey over the past month to get here. I started off diving with National Geographic photographer Keith […]
The Silent Side of Diving
Breathe in, breathe out…no bubbles, just silence. Whoa. Magic? Maybe. A whole new world? Definitely. You know your scholarship year is going to be incredible when just the first experience alters your entire perspective on diving…and that is exactly what happened during my Subgravity Defender TDI Air Diluent course with Jon and Lauren Kieren in the […]
The End of the Beginning
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is often where we start from.” – T.S. Eliot As I finally catch my breath after a week full of graduation, 23rd birthday, and Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society Rolex Awards excitement, I’m reflecting upon the […]