Hello!
My name is Athena Abrahamsen. This fall, I will be entering my senior year of my undergraduate degree. I am working towards obtaining a B.S. in Oceanography from the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) of Oregon State University.
I am incredibly excited to have been selected to be the MATE Intern aboard the R/V Pelican. This opportunity has been on my radar for quite some time, and I am honored to be chosen for this position.
My interest in participating in sea-going research began my first year of college when I completed the Introduction to Field Oceanography course series at Oregon State. In this course series, students learn about various ways that oceanographic data is collected, and then get to go out on a multi-day cruise aboard a research vessel to see these data collection techniques in action!
When completing this course series, I participated on a four day cruise aboard the R/V Sally Ride and absolutely loved every second of it – I definitely caught the “I-really-like-going-to-sea” bug. I am beyond grateful that I had the chance to participate in an experience like this, it is an incredible privilege that donors make this possible.
Between the Sally Ride experience and now, I have tried to grasp where within the realm of oceanography my interest lies. Working as a Research Assistant in a lab that analyzed the Organic Carbon and Nitrogen contents of water and sediment samples, completing and internship with the goal of developing educational materials surrounding the concept of Ocean Acidification, and my current role as Student Technical Assistant for the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Endurance Array have all provided clarity about the path I hope to pursue. Your undergraduate experience is meant to help you guide and form your understanding of your area of study. This comes through trial and error– you’re not going to know right away (spoiler alert: I didn’t).
For all of those reading, something that has stuck with me as I’ve searched for my place within the realm of ocean science is wisdom my internship mentor shared after a data exploration project. It was along the lines of ‘finding out that something didn’t work is equally as valuable as something that does work.’ Don’t be afraid to try something just because you’re scared that you won’t be good at it or absolutely love it on the first go. If you don’t even try, how are you going to learn and grow? Embrace the uncertainty and unpredictability!
With the Endurance Array project and team, I have learned so much about what goes into oceanographic data collection, and have had the chance to go on multiple day-cruises, as well as two of their multi-day research cruises (so far). I was aboard the R/V Sikuliaq in Spring of 2023 for 15 nights, and the R/V Atlantis for four nights in the Fall of that same year. The cruises took place off of the coasts of Oregon and Washington. The picture above was taken in front of the R/V Atlantis as we were loading some of our moorings onto the vessel!
The hands-on experience I’ve been able to accrue due to the support and mentorship of my colleagues and the crews aboard the vessels has been invaluable in supporting and solidifying the path I want to follow as a Marine Technician. The MATE Internship will allow me to further my understanding of the intricacies of this role and how I, personally, can best fit the role to support the completion of science missions. I have found the dynamic environment of this work incredibly rewarding. The situational awareness and problem solving that come with this field ensure that I’m always learning and seeing the results of the scientific work being completed. As I am in my final days of prepping to go aboard the R/V Pelican, I am looking forward to beginning this internship and I’m excited for all of the knowledge that will come with it (I peli-can’t wait)! So far, I have never been on a cruise outside of the Northeast Pacific, so being in the Gulf of Mexico on top of this new role within the sea-going science world will be super cool.
I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my journey as I get to experience the role I have dreamed so long about obtaining. Thank you to all who have supported me to get to this step. Your contributions are what have gotten me here.