Dr. Karina Yager’s presentation on her work with glaciers and native communities was extremely interesting to me because these are not topics that I was very familiar with previously. I had never been anywhere with glaciers before and I also never knew how important glaciers were to native communities. It was interesting to learn that these glaciers were considered deities in their culture and are also important features to their way of life and their environment. When Dr. Yager showed us her repeat photography, I was shocked to see how much these glaciers had shrunk over time. After I saw that, I kept wondering, what would happen to these communities once all the glaciers had melted? Would they all be forced to relocate and find work in the city? What about the animals they were raising? How would they adapt to the sudden loss of a water source? I was also really interested in her work involving the native communities in her research. I thought that the children’s drawings were adorable and I agree with her that working with the community that you are doing research in is important.
Another thing that really interested me was when Dr. Yager shared with us her academic pathway. I was also interested to learn what led her to these opportunities, like the one where she worked with the Natural History Museum. It was very enlightening to learn that her path was not completely straightforward and that she went into college not knowing what she would do in the future. I had always had a lot of anxiety about commiting to a STEM path despite my passion for the arts because I didn’t feel that the arts would be a very reliable future for me. However, hearing Dr. Yager share all the different experiences she had and all the different degrees she earned gave me a little more perspective on having a less traditional career path.