COLDEX REU Reflection
By Sa’angna Mi’ila Gollette, an undergraduate student in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of New Mexico. Mi’ila was one of 11 COLDEX REU students during Summer 2023.
It’s a warm Saturday in Newport Beach, Oregon. The sky is perfect blue with unique dispersions of clouds surrounding me. The waves excitingly approach the shoreline then slowly recede back. I sigh, understanding the feeling of the waves as they come and go. It wasn’t just any Saturday but my last Saturday in Oregon. Two months ago, I was unsure what type of experiences I’d have living in another state for the first time. All I knew was that I would be doing research that sparked a special passion of mine. I felt my stomach twist into knots. I wasn’t ready to go back just yet. I took a deep breath and glanced away from the water. I looked around and was suddenly warmed by the sight of families laughing, two dogs playing tag with each other, and surfers waxing their boards. I felt whole and content, a feeling I couldn’t' put into words.
Admit it, two months can feel either relatively long or quite short, depending on one's perception of time. However, I believe we can agree that a lot can transpire within a span of two months. The time I spent at Oregon State’s Ice Core Lab, I had the privilege of collaborating with exceptional paleoclimatologists, which provided me with fantastic opportunities to learn the intricacies of studying our Earth’s history. I pushed the boundaries I gave myself in terms of my approach to learning new subjects. I broke through my limitations and started venturing beyond my comfort zone. I began to actively participate with my mentors as we posed open-ended questions; I became in awe of Antarctica’s oldest ice. On the days I lacked clarity on how to proceed with my research, my REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) cohort offered me valuable support. Throughout this time, I observed a growing sense of confidence in my identity. I dedicated the majority of my time outside the lab to bonding with new friends that were also REU students in different programs at Oregon State. We spent lots of our time soaking in Oregon’s summer sun through hikes in the Cascades, renting wetsuits to surf the cold water of the coast, and trying numerous ice cream flavors from Sugar J’s in downtown Corvallis. I had never experienced such an amazing summer.
I felt content knowing I’d go back home with new skills I learned through my research, but also the new memories I made with (who are now) my best friends. I felt a sense of community; I found my people. There's a reason why I related to those waves coming and going on the shoreline that Saturday....how could I want to leave?
The COLDEX Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program places undergraduate students in COLDEX research groups across the country for a summer research experience. Applications for the Summer 2024 cohort will open on December 1.
