Greetings from the heart of America’s dairy land, Madison, Wisconsin!  The past few days have been a whirlwind. I landed late in Milwaukee on Saturday night, and after a few days at work and a doctor and dentist appointment, I find myself back at the University of Wisconsin!

I am so glad to be back here in Madison, but I find myself already missing my friends and all the beautiful places from the west coast. It really was an experience that provided me with so much knowledge and lifelong friendships; two things that will serve me well in the future.

This semester promises to be a challenging one but I am looking forward to it. I will be taking physics, two microbiology classes, a biochemistry class, and will be continuing with my mentored research of Lake Michigan. Aside from what I’m sure will be a rigorous class load, I have 7 Wisconsin Badger football games at Camp Randall Stadium to break up my studies. I’ve been itching to get back to jumping around, and singing “Sweet Caroline” along with 85,000 other crazy badger fans.

There is still much to process from this summer. There are lots of notes to go through and I have many things to think about for grad school and my future. While there is much to do, I am so excited to see what my future holds and I know that this past summer was an amazing addition to that journey.

Again, I would like to thank everyone for all their support and guidance this summer. This is my last blog post as an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar, but hopefully I will be able to post some more reflections in the future! See you soon, and On Wisconsin!