“Crystal Bae came to UC Santa Barbara from Washington, D.C., but she didn’t travel here the conventional way (by car, bus, plane or train). Bae bicycled here, part of a summer bicycle tour with her partner in which she cycled 4,651 miles, with 88 days on the road riding a daily average of 61 miles. Over the summer, the couple consumed 11 jars of peanut butter, 43 scoops of ice cream and countless pancakes. They applied 32 ounces of sunblock and experienced four thunderstorms — all in Montana.” Patricia Marroquin, writing for Noozhawk, goes on to say:
But we digress. For more information on her awesome adventure, click here to read her blog. The Graduate Post also featured Bae in a Graduate Student Spotlight.
Bae, who holds a bachelor of arts degree in English literature with a minor in geography from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., plans to pursue a master’s degree/Ph.D. in Geography at UCSB. “The faculty and graduate students seem receptive to interdisciplinary work,” Bae said, “so I expect to hear and learn a lot about collaborative research between different UCSB departments. It’s also a shift being on a more traditional college campus, since GWU was nestled right into the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of D.C. and fairly integrated into the city.”
She’s excited about the new avenues and opportunities that await her. “I’m looking forward to exploring potential research ideas here with supportive faculty members who have a huge variety of focus areas, including some exciting new areas of geographic study that I’m less familiar with,” she said. “I also look forward to working as a teaching assistant for the first time this fall.”
Bae will be putting her bicycle to good use here. “I like that downtown Santa Barbara is an easy bike ride away, and that there’s a huge range of opportunities for enjoying the outdoors around here: hiking, bird-watching, surfing, and just picnicking amongst gorgeous vistas. Getting outside is a great way to take a break from sitting at your desk all day” (source).
Editor’s note: Many thanks to staff financial analyst, Nancy Ponce, for bringing this material to our attention.
