Looking back on my summer in Wyoming, I feel a sense of excitement and gratitude for my experiences that’s indescribable, but I’ll try to put it into words for my past self. As you’re about to leave for your trip, I know that you’re nervous for what’s to come. That’s typical. So, I want to…

Beautifully insignificant. That’s how I felt craning my neck upwards to see the peaks of the mountains while walking along a rocky trail through Grand Teton National Park. Towards the end of our trip around the state of Wyoming, we hiked 12 miles in the Tetons. We started the day off with breakfast next to…

Throughout the past week, our class has been working on planning and conducting independent research projects. I chose to tackle the question of how climate change will affect the vegetation on Pitt’s Spring Creek Preserve. My overarching hypothesis is “if the changing climate of the southeastern Wyoming region leads to less snowpack accumulation, then the…

Studying ancient ecosystems alongside modern ecosystems helps paint a broader and more historically accurate concept of how Earth functions. As a student studying ecology, geology, and paleontology for the first time on this trip, gaining a broader understanding is valuable to forming my own foundation of earth sciences. Rock formations that were created hundreds of…

Reflecting on my time so far in Wyoming, I can’t help but recognize how much the culture that I originally felt friction against has grown on me significantly. Wyoming is marked deeply by a sense of independence. In the small town of Laramie where we’re currently residing and in the even smaller towns we stop…

Sitting at the edge of the flat portion of land near the shipping containers (where we camp), I’m overlooking the steep drop-off of the land in front of me. Two ridges that decay as they progress a few hundred yards in front of me form the relatively small valley below. A rocky divot cuts down…

Hi, my name is Cecilia Claire Olmsted (but I go by Claire), and I am a rising sophomore here at Pitt. I am majoring in mechanical engineering, and I am also pursuing a certificate in sustainability. I’m also interested in minoring in civil engineering. Generally, I want to academically pursue the intersection between sustainability and…