What drew you to the Caleb Scholars Program?
I was drawn to the Caleb Scholars Program for many reasons. I appreciate how this program
supports those who are pursuing higher education in my home region. I admire how this
program pushes to steward cultural and community connections as well as offers support in
these areas for their scholars. The Caleb Scholars Program team holds their scholars to a high
standard which will help to push me towards learning more about my home community as well
as excelling in my graduate program.
What are your educational and career goals? How do your goals relate to environmental
conservation?
As a business administration graduate and an enrolled MSB finance student, I will learn how
business operates with the government and how to bring business priorities into the regulatory
process. I will learn how to provide resources and tools to not only members of my corporation
but also members in our community and region.
Continuing working in the finance department at the Norton Sound Region health corporation, I
will learn how money operates at a corporate level and learn how we can use this money to
support the Norton Sound region. My education in business administration and organizational leadership will only push me towards one day having a successful career where I can advocate
for my people and the conservation of the environment.
Please share a reflection of when you have felt a connection to the ocean or the land.
I grew up in Nome, Alaska, which is a coastal town right on the Bering Sea- every day I saw the
ocean. In 2020 I moved to Corvallis, Oregon, to attend Oregon State University. I never really
got homesick during college, but I always felt a disconnect to Corvallis that I could not pinpoint.
After a couple months of living in Corvallis, I bought my first car and the first trip I took was to
Newport, Oregon, which is the closest coastal town to Corvallis. I parked my car and headed
straight towards the beach. The fresh smell of the salty ocean and feeling the coastal wind
through my hair was something that I never realized that I missed so deeply until I was sitting
there. I remember sitting there by myself and realizing that I had gone months without seeing,
smelling, or feeling the ocean. I felt a connection back to my hometown in that moment and if I
ever felt homesick in college, I now enjoy treating myself to a solo trip to touch the ocean.