This summer has been exciting to say the least, and I’ve earned the few short weeks of R&R I’ve had at home. This summer was spent floating down the Susquehanna River between Milton, Danville and Shamokin Dam, on what little water there was, taking water samples for chemistry analysis.

My parents didn’t understand why I wanted to stay in Lewisburg and collect water samples instead of sitting on the beach all summer, but I’m glad I did. There were many adventures throughout the summer including electrofishing in West Virginia, kayaking to Northumberland, dragging Jon boats in the shallow river and collecting a river garbage collection for Professor McTammany (including a full MacBook Pro, found four weeks apart).

I cannot wait for the semester to begin to continue the adventures the Susquehanna River brings, to meet new people and experience the hands on learning BotS will bring. A brief synopsis of this semester; trips to Cooperstown, N.Y., (headwaters of the river), Baltimore, Md., and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as well as kayaking trips and nature photography. At the end of the semester, we will also travel to the West Coast for a comparative watershed study.

All my friends can’t understand why I didn’t go abroad like a typical junior, but BotS seemed more interesting to me, and maybe it’s because I live in London and have had the ‘abroad experience’, or maybe it’s because there isn’t another opportunity or program that offers this kind of learning opportunity.  All I know is I am beyond excited for this semester to begin! See you in two weeks!