Who I am - words that describe me:
Lean, mean, and green. Green is one of my favorite colors (a color of the Earth and all that.) Mean is what I get when people on the East Coast try to get this native Californian out of bed too early in the morning. And lean is what I am on experience in scuba diving. Though I just completed my certification, there is much more for me to learn about the underwater world.

My personal challenges:
As I was saying, I've just taken on the challenge of scuba diving and learning about the ocean ecosystems. My first time fully suited in the water felt terrific. I've always loved the ocean. During high school, I swam about a mile a day off the coast of Santa Cruz and occasionally had some encounters with questionable marine life. But as a swimmer, you don't spend time getting to know what's brushing up against you.

This time, I was able to move freely and to breathe easily, which meant that I could watch every little creature that came around. There weren't too many creatures in the little lagoon where we did our training though. So we arranged for a boat and headed out to Key Largo's reefs. Wow, what an amazing thing. There are fish of all species, lots of different kinds of coral, and even a few dolphins out there. The dolphins were more interested in playing in our boat's wake than with us, so they didn't hang around. I sure would like to get a close-up with one while I'm in the water though. We watched for various species, especially the scary ones. We didn't see any sharks on that first trip, but we did see barracuda. My co-worker, Gary, just about popped his eyes on the first medium sized barracuda he saw swimming above his head!

Being underwater has a way of challenging your understanding of yourself and others. I've always thought of myself as fairly brave, but I sucked up more than my normal share of air on the few times I saw something unusual or discomforting. Scuba diving isn't for everyone, but if you want to learn more about the oceans and thus about our planet, it's a great way to do it.

My career challenges:
Not only will this mission teach me more about living in alternate environments, it has built an interest in me to go back to school and study marine biology. I'm already a firm believer in "life-long learning," but now I that I know how essential it is to aging more pleasantly, I'm even more committed to learning all that I can on a variety of subjects.

I think that by the time I'm 90, I'll be a true "Renaissance Man" or woman as the case may be. I also think that "career" no longer applies to most of us, at least in the traditional sense. It used to mean something, usually one field or type of job, that we settled into after some period of learning. But now, I think a person's "career" will mean what she does over the course of her lifetime; it won't be a single field for me. I've already had about three major changes in the kinds of jobs I've done; I've been a counselor, a teacher, and a writer.

For this project, I'm a "Crew Coordinator." I expect that I will have many more titles in the years to come. I will learn throughout my life and then apply that learning to whatever situation I'm in. My "challenge" is to find a way to make all my life experiences fit together so that I'm interested and involved in the jobs I'm assigned to.

My career:
I'll just add that right now, I work with NASA's Life Sciences Outreach on a variety of projects. One of them is a magazine for students. Working with people of all ages is interesting to me, but working with youth provides me with a constant creativity that I love. It's a way of being a "student" and letting the kids be the "teacher."

Likes/Dislikes about career:
Change is interesting, and that's what I love best about my "career." It changes or evolves with my interests and desires. I have college degrees in English and Cultural Studies, but my current field is Life Science. As I grow to learn more, I apply all that I've learned in various environments to the job at hand. I wouldn't change any part of what I do except to create more hours in the day. I want to advance my knowledge with more college courses, but there isn't always time to do that. For now, I keep reading, and learning because I know that's what keeps me happy.

Influences:
Teachers are often the unsung heroes in our lives; we pay them tribute only when they're not around to hear it! There are two people, a husband and wife, who both teach English at California State University Fresno, who have taught me much more than what great literature is. John Hales taught me about the heart of American culture. We had many long discussions on work, destiny, nature, and this land. Things I had never thought about before became very important to me. John is an extremely intelligent man, who has a great way of letting students come to their own understanding. Connie Hales is a poet, a wonderful American poet. I always felt that listening to Connie read her poems was a rare treasure. She can put experience into words in ways that make it seem even more real. She's also one of the best analytical thinkers I know. She taught me to question the obvious and the "authority." She's a kind of Agent Mulder of American Literature, and her x-files are full of stories from our lives. Both Connie and John inspired me, but more they showed me how to "think."

Future goals:
Fish, fish, and more fish, and maybe some mammals and invertebrates too. I want to learn more about our oceans. I'm fascinated with deep sea environments and what sorts of creatures exist that we didn't even suspect. On top of becoming a marine biologist, I'd like to discover an unknown species!

My thoughts about space exploration:
Exploration has been an important human endeavor for all time. The desire to go beyond our front doors has given our species wondrous experiences. We still have much on Earth to explore (in the way of oceans), but we also have many more explorers. In space, we have endless opportunities to dream and to discover. If we explore all that we currently know exists, we still won't be done for many thousands of years. The idea of what's out there will continue to inspire us for generations. I have something to look forward to even in my old age; I know we won't have all the answers.

Personal information:
Family? What exactly does that mean? For me, it means a grandmother, a mother, a sister, three brothers, a brother-in-law, two sisters-in-law, two aunts, two uncles, three double first cousins, five first cousins, two cousin's wives, one cousin's husband, seven nieces, a nephew, a great-niece, four second cousins, a partner, and two cats. Christmas time in our family is a large gathering with many laughing bodies crammed into every available space. That's family to me. Aren't you sorry you asked?