Category Archives: sea_mol

Wishing That This Summer Never Ends

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It is quite shocking that there are only two weeks left in the program until the cohort comes together one last time to present our research projects in Newport. My experiences this summer have forever created a place in my heart for Oregon, my Oregon Sea Grant family and my Oregon State University family. It has been quite a journey filled with new faces, exciting conversations, and unique outdoor adventures. Over the past several weeks, I have had the pleasure of expanding my OSU and academia network by continuing to seek out college readiness programs in the region. This expansion included a meet and greet encounter with Mr. Ed Young, a writer for The Atlantic, whose keynote speech about symbiosis and scientist’s life stories was beyond captivating. Plus, it was a bonus to have a signed copy of his new best-selling book…winning!!! I also had the pleasure of speaking to a group of Albany high school students participating in the OSU Upward Bound program about college opportunities and experiences. It was a little difficult to anticipate how interactive this audience would be, but to my delight they were very inquisitive and had quite a list of questions concerning topics related to financial aid, scholarships, tuition, and so on.

Even though my project has had some bumps in the road, I am thankful for being able to be a part of this project and to help OSU further carry out their mission of providing higher education opportunities to communities in need through diversity and inclusion initiatives. After several meetings and a lot of hard work, I have been able to design two new surveys for our project that will be administered to students and parents as part of the program objectives. Even though I will be leaving before the surveys and focus groups can be administered, I am glad that I was able to help contribute to this portion of the project in some way. Hopefully, I will still have the opportunity to visit the Siletz reservation before my departure and to attend their annual Pow Wow next weekend.

In the meantime, I have continued my exploration of Oregon with a stellar trip to Crater Lake where I watched the sunset and the sunrise with a couple of hours of sleep in the back of a Subaru. Two weeks ago, I went on the camping with the other OSG summer scholars and despite a little mishap we managed to have a great trip that involved hiking through an old growth forest, marionberry picking on a farm, and swimming in the Willamette river. Last weekend I managed to make my way to the Silver Falls state park where you can walk pass 10 different waterfalls along an 8 mile-loop trail that is simply spectacular! Afterwards, I went to Portland for a day to remember what it is like to be in a big city (I believe there has only been two weekends where I have not slept in a tent) and to eat some delicious ramen and read some books at Powell’s. If you do not know what Powell’s is…well you should know (if you are a true book lover)! To capture some zen before the hectic schedule that is about to ensue these last couple of weeks, I will be camping at Mt. Hood and taking in as much as Oregon has to offer while I can.

Have a great weekend everyone and go exploring!

P.S. I am FINALLY a proud tent owner and lifetime member of REI!!! ☺

Organic Oregon

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WOW! I feel as if I have left the country and that I am living in an entirely different world. I have never seen so many Subaru cars in my life or beards! All in all, I am having a fantastic time here in Corvallis and I am loving my project. Since my last blog post, I have had the pleasure of attending the 3rd Tribal Environmental Health Summit held here in Corvallis, OR and have had the opportunity to speak with high school students from various summer programs about my experience as a college student and Oregon Sea Grant scholar. My project is quite challenging as I attempt to navigate my time meeting with administrators and program directors affiliated with various organizations and universities across Oregon and the country. Despite some difficulties, everyone that I have met thus far has been very welcoming and helpful with the project. I have not had the opportunity to visit the Confederated States of Siletz Indians reservation yet, but hopefully I will be able to make a visit there soon.
As far as my own Oregon adventures outside of my work environment, I have been able to visit quite a few places since my arrival. To begin, I went river rafting for the first time in my life from Corvallis to Albany which was quite the adventure of me trying not to freak out about drowning. :) I have also managed to make quite a few friends from the REU and other summer programs here on campus. Our groups have had the chance to visit some of the local hiking spots around the city and we go to the Farmer’s Market from time to time. One weekend we went on a coastal road trip to see the Sea Lion caves, visit Newport, and to hike up a random trail alongside the highway with spectacular views. We spent the Fourth of July watching fireworks from the riverfront downtown and have gone to the movies a couple of times, as well as, discovering some awesome dinner spots along the way. (Although, I do have to say that one of the only things I miss about AZ is the food. For example, I have had a pulled pork sandwich without any barbecue sauce because the owner does not “believe” in barbecue sauce and I just had a Huevos Rancheros dish made with Spaghetti Sauce!!! That is unacceptable!!!) Sorry, but I LOVE my Southwestern and Mexican food with a passion! Finally, last weekend we hiked the South Sister summit which was one of the most challenging hikes I have EVER completed in my life! At 10,380 I thought I was going to die from exhaustion, but in reality I survived with just sunburns. It was a breathtaking sight that I will never forget and one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen on this planet, simply time stopping. Afterwards, we drove to Bend to be tourists and explored a nearby cave where we had to crawl on our bellies to reach the end of that underground trail! We then ended our trip by stopping at the Dee Wright Observatory in the Willamette National Forest to check out some volcanic rocks and to see some more mountains in the distance.
I am thankful for all of the academic and non-academic activities I have had the pleasure of experiencing over the last few weeks. I am beyond thankful to be an Oregon Sea Grant scholar this summer and to have the opportunity to share my aid to the OSG-OSU project. Now I must hurry to pack my bags once again as I head to Crater Lake for the weekend! Until the next blog everyone and thank you for reading!!! :)

There Are Trees and Rivers Here!!!

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Hello Everyone!!! My name is Fatima Molina and I am from the beautiful city of Flagstaff, Arizona. I am beyond excited to be a part of the 2018 Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholars cohort this summer and for all of the experiences that are bound to happen! I have never been to the state of Oregon before, but as soon as I step off the airplane in Portland I fell in love. I was used to having the San Francisco Peaks and ponderosa pine trees in my backyard growing up in Flagstaff, but during my time at the University of Arizona in Tucson I was surrounded by the hot desert filled with spiky cacti and poisonous animals (although Tucson did have some stellar sunsets).

This summer I am stationed on the Oregon State University (OSU) campus, where I am helping OSU faculty develop a Native American College Readiness Program for students from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, as well as, for other Native American tribes around the country. Part of my role is to investigate similar programs established at other post-secondary institutions and to build a correspondence between their administrators and OSU faculty. I will also be working with OSU faculty to develop an IRB-approved survey and protocol for interviewing focus groups to identity barriers to high school graduation and college enrollment. I am super excited to be helping OSU develop this important program to reach out to Native American communities around the country and to further increase diversity and inclusion on the OSU campus. As a Native American myself, it is always fantastic to witness higher education institutions take the initiative to recognize, form communication bridges, and help Native American students receive their Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. degrees. I am also excited to learn more about the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the Pacific Northwest and the history of their tribes. There is a Pow Wow in early August that I would love to attend and if anyone is interested in joining me that would be great! Just let me know!

In the meantime, I will definitely be taking advantage of the local opportunities here on campus, in Corvallis, and throughout Oregon. This past weekend I visited a superb bookstore in downtown Corvallis and walked along a chill bridge across the river. I am not exactly tech savvy so I failed at uploading photos with this blog, but I will try to figure it all out by the next one! Thanks for taking the time to read about me and my project! :D