Back in School

I received the syllabus for my summer coursework today, along with the reading assignments for the first day of class. So it looks like I'm officially back in school after a very long break from academia. I'm glad to be back, and feel extremely fortunate to have a second chance at this grad school thing. I think I chose better this time around.

This program is actually 5 graduate level courses (a total of 10 credit hours) jam packed into 4 weeks. Weeks 1 and 4 we're on campus in the city for the morning (starting at 8am) and in the field at various restoration sites for the afternoon (ending at 5pm.) Weeks 2 and 3 are spent camping on the Oregon coast and all day every day we're in the field at two major restoration sites.

We'll be doing a lot of team work - gathering and compiling data, monitoring sites, writing reports, etc. It also looks like we'll be presenting our recommendations to various restoration groups and professionals at the end of the program.

I'll admit I'm nervous about going back to school. But there are worlds of differences between this program and my last one. For example: "Insect repellent," "Full change of clothes," and "Waders" were included on the "To Bring To Class Daily" list in the orientation email. And any academic program where students are advised to "be prepared for all types of weather" has got to be at least a little fun.

So, to sum up - I'm back, and expect lots of river pictures to come!

The Columbia River from Hamilton Mountain Trail.
(A nice hike, I highly recommend it.)