In January of 2021, I returned to campus at Colby College to begin my final semester of my senior year. Thankfully, the majority of my classes were held in-person and I was able to live on campus, participating in my normal extra-curricular activities and taking advantage of my final months of college. I continued my on campus jobs, working as a research assistant in the Colby Lab for Ice and Climate Research as well as assisting a global studies professor whose recent work has focused on homogenizing rhetoric that promotes nationalism in the US. I also worked for Colby’s sustainability department leading student outreach programs and at the school’s rock climbing wall. In May, I graduated, with a major in anthropology and a minor in environmental studies.

I came home to the Vineyard for the summer, returning to my job with the Trustees of Reservations on their Chappaquiddick properties. There, I worked as a member of their shorebird monitoring team, making daily observations of the nesting and breeding statuses of the protected birds that inhabit the Vineyard’s beaches during the summer months. Because these beaches are also greatly utilized by the public during in the summer, this job provided a unique opportunity to examine strategies for managing the relationship between beach goers and the wildlife that depend on these habitats for their survival and reproduction. I found my conversations with members of the public to be the most rewarding aspect of this job, with each encounter providing me insights on how to best explain and educate people about the importance of wildlife management and protection while also taking into account recreational public access to these beautiful properties.

I spent this fall traveling around both the U.S. and overseas to France, taking advantage of the time I had between jobs to think more deeply about what I wish to pursue next. I’m spending this winter in the Chamonix valley in the French alps, working as a private chef and building up my backcountry skiing and wilderness safety skills.