In 2019 I had the opportunity to travel to several different countries for specialized study. I spent January in Paris, France, for a small-group language intensive course. During the week, I studied French, and outside of class I was able to explore the city, visiting museums and practicing my French conversational skills. I returned to the Colby College campus in Maine for spring semester, dividing my studies between anthropology and geology. I became more interested in Earth’s climate and how its changes are recorded in geologic history. This led to a summer research position with Dr. Bess Koffman, an assistant professor of geology at Colby College. I spent three weeks in June on the Kahiltna Glacier in Denali National Park, Alaska, doing field research and preparing to collect ice and snow samples from the saddle of Mount Hunter. Then I returned to Colby to work in Dr. Koffman’s geo-chemistry lab. We analyzed the isotopic “fingerprint” of the glacial samples to determine the origins of dust stored within the snow to track how winds have changed over the past several thousand years and how this corresponds to other changes in Earth’s climate. In August I traveled to Dakar, Senegal, for a four-month program focused on language and culture. My host family immersed me in the Senegalese way of life, speaking French and Wolof, with communal meals and family events. I traveled to rural regions of the country and The Gambia, analyzing neocolonialism and processes of development confronting many African countries. I also visited the African Aquatics Conservation Fund, a nonprofit research, conservation and education organization. The semester in general greatly increased my interest in sustainable international development, especially the vulnerability of certain populations in relation to climate change.