天美影视传媒

Passion never rests

For the 鈥淶ooBots,鈥� a quarter at the 天美影视传媒 means watching whales breach off the coast of San Juan Island, hiking through the old-growth forest, and taking a sunset row into Friday Harbor. It means lowering a dive light from the docks to see crabs crawling and sea lions swimming and jellyfish glowing in the moonlight, and having a bonfire with classmates who have quickly become like family.

Named for the subjects they鈥檙e studying 鈥� zoology and botany 鈥� 17 undergraduate 鈥淶ooBots鈥� spend their days traipsing around the UW鈥檚 Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL) campus, which feels, in many ways, like 鈥渟cience camp for adults,鈥� says Susan Harris, 鈥�15.

The Bellingham, Washington native grew up fishing salmon in the San Juans with her dad every year. 鈥淢y dad would always point out the labs,鈥� says Harris, whose college career included a year moonlighting as Harry the Husky and a summer studying through the Alaska Salmon Program. 鈥淗e鈥檇 say, 鈥榊ou see what that is? That whole land is owned by the UW.鈥欌��

That 鈥渨hole land鈥� is nearly 2,000 acres of untouched biological preserve, to be exact. Untouched, that is, save for the small bundle of buildings that make up the College of the Environment鈥檚 facilities, which have been home to respected faculty and the world鈥檚 foremost researchers for more than a century.

And, for 10 weeks a year, it鈥檚 home to aspiring students like Harris, who drive 80 miles from Seattle and hop a ferry to live, eat and work at the field station, which overlooks the bustling harbor. The suite of courses 鈥� two days of zoology, two days of botany, and Friday for independent research projects 鈥� is designed to give young scientists a crash course in marine biology. According to Harris, who studied fisheries, it delivers.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 really amazing about the structure of the quarter is we have a lecture on invertebrates or seaweed in the morning, and then we go straight to lab and see exactly what we just talked about,鈥� she says.

Better yet, the students are going to the field and collecting exactly what they just talked about. 鈥淎 couple times a week, the class will take vans out to a different kind of rocky intertidal habitat or to a beach, and anything you can pick up, Professor Megan Dethier and Professor Tom Mumford 鈥� who are ecology lords 鈥� can tell you a story about,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淗ere, you鈥檙e taking what you鈥檙e studying from right there in front of you, right out of the ocean. It鈥檚 something that鈥檚 part of the UW that鈥檚 right in our backyard, and that鈥檚 rare,鈥� says Harris of the hands-on learning experience.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 super purple,鈥� says Harris, who鈥檚 working a summer job on a tender vessel in the Gulf of Alaska thanks to connections she made through the Alaska Salmon Program. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have gotten these opportunities anywhere else. When you find something you鈥檙e passionate about at the UW and you find that niche, you can do anything.鈥�

Check out the daily Friday Harbor Labs life on Susan Harris鈥� Instagram