{"id":2188,"date":"2025-05-16T22:03:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T22:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurorasaurudev.wpengine.com\/?p=2188"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:16:17","slug":"poetic-wisdom-from-winter-field-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=2188","title":{"rendered":"Poetic Wisdom From Winter Field School"},"content":{"rendered":"

With graduation season underway, we\u2019re reflecting on the insights and experiences we would share with this year\u2019s newly minted professionals. We\u2019re finding ourselves inspired by the nine undergraduate and graduate students who attended the <\/span>Eclipses to Aurora: Winter Field School<\/span><\/a> at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. How did this experience cause them to reflect on their lives as future scientists, engineers, artists, and more broadly as people in the world? As one of their assignments, they crafted \u201cepiphany essays\u201d describing their learning. We continue this blog post series by sharing their pearls of wisdom about the process of doing science, and how this work benefits the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Five<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Sophia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am the only art student in a cohort of nine undergraduates, studying heliophysics and the aurora for a warm week in -nth degree Fairbanks, Alaska\u2026. To be an artist, and to be a scientist is to take on the task of translator. Art and the sciences are the ways in which we interpret, extrapolate, and interact with the world we were born into. Data sings in hertz the same sunset, the way a paintbrush signals to the page. We are engaged in the same waltz, the act of archiving, a constant conversation between the senses. I do not just describe a similarity in subject matter, I am in a constant state of practice and experimentation\u2026.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Within art, science, and life, I exist in a constant state of practice and experimentation.<\/b> I can never fail, when I am in a constant state of practice and experimentation. I am always exactly where I am supposed to be. <\/b>
\n<\/span>\u2014Courtney<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Snow-covered<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We, as scientists, employ the scientific method in our work all the time\u2014our brains almost become hardwired to it. <\/span>But what I hadn\u2019t fully realized until recently is that the scientific method is not just a process for science; it\u2019s a way of knowing and navigating life. <\/b>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In all of my successes and failures, both academic and personal, <\/span>I\u2019ve had to identify the problem, decide on a course of action, enact a plan, see how it works, and draw conclusions\u2014just like in science. It\u2019s iterative, and it\u2019s imperfect.<\/b> But it\u2019s also full of growth\u2026. shame grows from focusing only on what is missing, while pride comes from acknowledging what is already there. Like [a] little tree, I am still growing. My work, imperfect as it might feel, is a testament to that growth.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Grit doesn\u2019t erase the fear or doubt\u2014it carries you through it. It is what keeps you moving forward, even when you can\u2019t yet see the value in what you have done. And as I continue to navigate my path in astrophysics, I am learning to see myself not as someone who has to prove their worth, but as someone who is worthy simply because they persist. <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014Sophia<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Kalid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes people ask themselves big questions, like \u201cwhat are things that unify people?\u201d I felt that I found out the answer to that question from the first night we went to Cleary Summit and Poker Flat Research Range for aurora chasing\u2026. By the end of the week,<\/span> I understood something important: you don\u2019t have to know everything to belong. The auroras taught me that curiosity and wonder are enough to bring people together. <\/b>We all came from different places, different majors, and different levels of understanding, but we were united by the beauty of the sky lights. <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014Kalid<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The aurora was a mirror for what it means to be human. <\/b>We are born with the same curiosity that drives stars to burn, that propels comets through space, that pushes us to explore and understand the mysteries of the cosmos. The northern lights reflected that very curiosity\u2014an ever-changing dance of wonder. <\/span>In witnessing it, I realized that my passion for science was not just about knowledge\u2014it was about connection.<\/b> It was about becoming part of something much larger, much more beautiful, and much more mysterious than myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the lights began to fade, the spiral slowly dissolving into the vast night sky, I felt a profound peace settle within me. This experience would stay with me forever. The aurora had given me more than a stunning visual spectacle. It had given me an epiphany: that true understanding comes not just from knowledge, but from connection\u2014from feeling the pulse of the universe in your heart and knowing that you, too, are part of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the silence that followed, I realized that this moment was a gift\u2014a reminder to always seek, always wonder, and always strive to understand the beauty and mystery of the universe. <\/span>Just like the aurora, the pursuit of knowledge is a dance\u2014ever-changing, always beautiful, and never truly finished. <\/b>
\n<\/span>\u2014Vishvi<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Smiling<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Courtney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is something uniquely profound about meeting new people in an unfamiliar place, all of whom are deeply dedicated to a craft they believe in with unwavering conviction. Such experiences are rare, yet they offer an opportunity to grow together in ways that challenge our thinking and foster our development into more responsible, professional, and driven individuals. To describe this dynamic more simply, it feels fluid\u2014an ongoing process of adaptation, problem-solving, and collaboration. <\/span>While we strive to plan, we recognize the inevitability of surprises. This is not something I had ever encountered in a research setting. More often, research environments feel rigid and fixed, resistant to change. But here, we shifted our thinking, confronted challenges, and found solutions. <\/b>
\n<\/span>\u2014Jeffrey<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
Photo by WFS participant Jeffrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is nothing I have seen that is more beautiful than when I look at my field team gathered together to share\u2013more than just a meal\u2013but our souls with one another.\u00a0 Whether we are hiking a snow trail to measure ice thickness at Smith Lake or studying the stars on Cleary Summit, the best part about these expeditions is who I wander with.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the center of the sun, to the center of the soul, <\/span>science facilitates our connection to the universe, and thus one another<\/b>\u2026. The aurora chase us, and we chase them right back. We tell stories to explain them, and science is a story that they tell us.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have a poster in my dorm room that quotes a biology student named Sarah from Kenyon College: “Science is the process of telling stories about the world: here’s something you didn’t know, here’s how you figured it out, and here’s what you learned.\u00a0 <\/span>The way you communicate that is how you move the work forward.\u00a0 What you know isn’t worth knowing unless it’s shared with others.<\/b>\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014Amehja<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The scientific process of learning about our world is both interdisciplinary and deeply personal. Curiosity and love for a subject both advances the field and fulfills deeply: a reciprocal relationship. Applying those ideas to other parts of life can be tremendously rewarding. We hope you enjoyed these flashes of wisdom. Stay tuned for more to reflect on from our Winter Field School students!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Winter Field School was a supplement to the <\/span><\/i>Eclipse Ambassadors<\/span><\/i><\/a> program, and was led by <\/span><\/i>Aurorasaurus<\/span><\/i><\/a> and the <\/span><\/i>Astronomical Society of the Pacific<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With graduation season underway, we\u2019re reflecting on the insights and experiences we would share with this year\u2019s newly minted professionals. We\u2019re finding ourselves inspired by the nine undergraduate and graduate students who attended the Eclipses to Aurora: Winter Field School at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. How did this experience cause them to reflect on… Read More »Poetic Wisdom From Winter Field School<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24,7,30,31],"tags":[20,21,23,28],"class_list":["post-2188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aurora-testimonials","category-citizen-science","category-education","category-fieldwork","category-helio-big-year","tag-auroras","tag-citizen-science","tag-northern-lights","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}