CHUKCHI SEA, Alaska – The Coast Guard Cutter Healy and members from Stanford University who are aboard the cutter conducted a graduation ceremony above the Arctic Circle June 10, 2014, to confer undergraduate degrees for two students who area aboard Healy, therefore unable to participate in the university’s 123rd commencement exercises in Palo Alto, Calif.
Stanford University graduates, Erin Dillon and Caroline Ferguson, stand as part of the official party with from left to right): Cmdr. Gregory Stanclik, Healy’s executive officer; Dr. Kevin Arrigo, Donald and Donald M. Steele professor of Earth Sciences; Erin Dillon, graduate; Caroline Ferguson, graduate; and Capt. John Reeves, Healy’s commanding officer. The Coast Guard Cutter Healy and members from Stanford University who are aboard the cutter conducted a graduation ceremony above the Arctic Circle June 10, 2014, to confer undergraduate degrees for two students who were unable to participate in the university’s 123rd commencement exercises in Palo Alto, Calif. (Photo courtesy Carolina Nobre.)
.
Capt. John D. Reeves, Healy’s commanding officer, presided over the ceremony with Cmdr. Gregory Stanclik, Healy’s executive officer, acting as master of ceremonies as the bow steamed into the wind and sunshine bathed the flight deck. Resident writer, Dallas Murphy, filled the role of keynote speaker and offered a poignant commencement address with metaphors comparing his wanderings and travels in frigid Arctic weather to the struggles that lay ahead for newly graduated college students. He stressed that the road before them will be warmer and more fruitful when filled with collaboration and partnership among peers in other fields, suggesting that we can all stand to learn from the individuals surrounding us.
Dr. Kevin Arrigo, Chief Scientist for science mission 1401 of Arctic West Summer 2014, conferred degrees and presented diplomas as the Donald and Donald M. Steele Professor of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, as well as the Director of the Earth Systems Program.
Erin Dillon, of Concord, Calif., received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with Honors in Marine Biology.
Caroline Ferguson, of West Memphis, Ark., received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology with a concentration in Human-Ocean Interactions, and will continue on at Stanford as a co-terminal Master’s student in the Earth Systems Program.
Dillon and Ferguson are completing their final research seminar with Dr. Arrigo. All three members are embarked on Healy in support of the Study of Under-Ice Blooms in the Chukchi Ecosystem (SUBICE) mission.
