Alaska is a landscape that has left a deep impression on me and that I hope to revisit and perhaps even live in someday. One of the things that struck me the most during my time there was how little people cared about what car I drove or what clothes I wore. Functionality was what mattered, and I found this refreshing. In this rugged frontier, it is your attitude, work ethic, and grit that carry you.
During my days in Alaska, I spent a lot of time rafting the Mendenhall River, which is fed and flooded by the Mendenhall Glacier, providing class II & III rapids. I particularly enjoyed the fluvial geomorphometric component of my job, as it allowed me to see how the river changed throughout the season based on weather, melt, and runoff conditions. Despite working around 70 hours a week, with around 30-40 hours spent on the river, I never grew tired of watching the flora, fauna, wildlife, and migratory birds that surrounded me. My background in geomorphology and geology made this job especially rewarding, as I was able to teach my customers about the technicalities of the environment we were exploring.
This glimpse of fieldwork has sparked a desire within me to pursue more time in the field wherever I work next. Although the experience was incredible, it also taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of values and ethics in the workplace. I had assumed that these were universal, but I quickly discovered that this was not the case at my job. Therefore, wherever I go next, I will seek out companies and leaders whose values and vision align with my own.
