I’m not really sure if I ever actually said the phrase, but at one point in the week I noticed that a few of the students would tease me by saying in a high voice “Me llamo Michele, me gusta the fish” (My name is Michele, I like the fish). Because everyone did it in a […]

My trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) started at 2 am the morning of my flight by a phone call stating that my airport shuttle was ready for me (even though it wasn’t supposed to pick me up until 2:45 am!) That got me up and going at a much faster pace than originally planned […]

This past week was a hectic one – after flying back home from DAN, I had 3-4 days to prepare and pack for a month of adventures. I spent Sunday resting and mentally preparing myself for the month ahead.   Monday I woke up incredibly early to go to NASA’s Sony Carter Training Facility (also […]

My first official trip as the scholar, after the awards ceremony in New York City, was a week-long trip to visit the Divers Alert Network (DAN) headquarters in Durham, North Carolina. I have been a member of DAN for as long as I’ve been a diver, but luckily have never needed to use the organization […]

I have spent the last 6 years of my life in what I like to think of as “controlled uncertainty” mixed with “comfortable adventure” .  Throughout my undergraduate education at the University of Southern California (USC) I had a perfect combination of adventure, exploration, and going into the unknown with regiment, scheduling, and sureness. Every […]