Today we wake up pack up our luggage, so that when we return we are ready to go to check in at the airport and go see some sights before our plane boards. We stop by the NOAA facility, the Inupiat Heritage Center, then head to the airport. Barrow air captured at that the NOAA facility in Barrow.
The Barrow Airport is small, and our team is checking in over 15 bags for our flight to El Paso. Our check in goes as smooth as can be expected and we head to our last dinner before we have to go. Leaving Barrow is bittersweet – it's been a great trip and I have so much to share with my class, yet a part of me misses the research side. When I return I have to get my class situated, since class starts on Monday. A bowhead whale replica hangs atop the Inupiat Cultural Heritage Museum.
The days of lesson plans and classroom room prep are quickly back!
From the culture to the science, Barrow has re-energized me for the new school year! I come back focused and determined to make a difference in El Paso! Everyone always says this is a once in a lifetime trip, but it's not. I may not return to Barrow, but Alaska is too beautiful to not come back to. Thank you to Craig and Vanessa who have always supported me in every avenue that I have taken. I hope I can one day be as awesome scientists and great mentors that you both have been for me. Thank you to the Clint ISD Early College administrators and teachers for supporting me on this great opportunity for me and all the students of CECA! My family for being my biggest fans – I love you so much! My PolarTREC journey may end here, but my adventures will still continue in the Chihuahuan Desert and beyond!Ruth Rodriguez with a Polar Bear at the Inupiat Cultural Heritage Museum.
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