Hello from Minnesota!
So the time has finally come. Tomorrow morning I will hop on a plane and head to sunny, warm, tropical Hawaii to start my internship aboard the R/V Kilo Moana. My final apartment inspection was this afternoon (nothing like cutting it close!) and I finished a wild flurry of pure chaos that some people might call packing about an hour ago. I now have a few hours to kick back and attempt to sleep before setting off on what I can only imagine will be quite an adventure.
For a little bit of background info I was born right here in the frigid heart of Minnesota. I joined the Army right out of high school where I spent a few years driving all of the big bad trucks and tanks that they threw at me. Following that I returned to Minnesota (yes…it surprised me too) where I eventually completed my undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in microbiology from the University of Minnesota. While I was there I was fortunate enough to fall into a geomicrobiology research lab with absolutely AMAZING people that put up with me for several years before encouraging me to apply for this once-in-a-lifetime internship and here I am.
Whew…I think that is all I have for now considering I haven’t actually started the internship yet. The next time I post a message I will hopefully have less chatter about me and more about the incredible internship I am about to dive into!
Until then,
Elizabeth Ricci