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 Following
her junior year at Pomona, Laurel McFadden
spent a summer month living on a windswept Norwegian fjord,
where she worked freezing, 14-hour days studying an obscure
bird known as the little auk. Occasionally, the birds bit
and she was constantly bombarded from above with bird poop.
But McFadden loved working in the barren beauty of the
arctic, with breathtaking views of glaciers and the chance
to spot reindeer running free. “It was such a crazy
adventure,” says McFadden, who went on the trip to help with
research conducted
by Assistant Professor of Biology Nina Karnovsky.
Attending Pomona College has taken McFadden to some very
unexpected places, from a crowded hospital in China to the
freezing fjords of Norway. And just wait until you hear
about her next adventure. (More on that later.)
Her first trek was to China, through Pomona’s Study Abroad
program. She wanted an entirely different experience than
she had ever had before – and she got it, as she interned at
an international hospital in bustling Beijing. Later, she
witnessed the
poverty of Hunan province in Southern China.
Only weeks after returning from her semester in China, she
set off to Norway to conduct the bird research with
Professor Karnovsky. Later, she was able to attend a
scientific conference in Alaska, where she presented the
results of her bird
research. “I’ve had some absolutely incredible
opportunities,” says McFadden.
McFadden is thankful to have a professor actively looking
for opportunities for her, and a school that was able to
provide the resources for her to travel to Norway for
research. “I look back and I think, ‘wow, if it weren’t for
this professor, this program or these employment
opportunities, I have no idea where I’d be today,’” she
says.
And where is she today? McFadden’s Pomona experience’s
helped her to land a prestigious Watson Fellowship,
providing $25,000 for her to pursue a year of independent
travel and research overseas. McFadden will be returning to
the arctic, where she will visit the four northernmost
communities in the world, located in Canada, Greenland,
Norway and Russia. She’ll travel by plane, train and
icebreaker ship as she takes photos documenting life in
these extreme climes.
After her Watson fellowship, McFadden plans to work in China
for a year before going on to pursue a career in
international health law. At least that’s the plan at this
point. Pomona has opened up so many possibilities, ignited
so many interests. “Some days I’m an ecologist,” she says.
“Some days I’m a medical studies person. Some days I’m a
culturally-oriented humanities person." |
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