All right.
INTERVIEWER: We're going to give you about five minutes
or so to see what you can accomplish.
Where do you even start with a globe puzzle?
It's like, you can't start with the border.
Geospatial information systems and technology
is putting all these little pieces together,
mapping our world, and making it more accessible for a wider
public.
Couple more areas of North America over here, though.
I'd love it if I could find Wyoming in here.
INTERVIEWER: All right, Sam.
Time's up.
[SIGHS] All right.
[CHUCKLES]
SAM: My name is Sam Martinich.
My life has absolutely changed since landing at CWC.
We are somewhere right around here where the bison is.
I'm from Missoula, Montana.
Growing up, I loved going out, playing in the woods,
exploring, pulling sticks off of trees and sword fighting
with my siblings.
I was not a very good student, not at all.
I got my GED when I was 16 and was accepted into college,
and lasted there for about a year and a half
before doing poorly, dropping out.
And that's when I went and started hitchhiking around
North America, up through Canada, down through Mexico.
After about three years, it was time to move on,
find something different.
Let's just go big or go home, right.
So the Continental Divide trail is 3,100 miles.
Along the way, I made friends, one of them
who had been an old expedition science student here
at Central Wyoming College.
I hadn't thought of school in some time.
I'd been wandering for so long and looking for adventure,
but having a hard time supporting myself doing it.
Let's try Central Wyoming College.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Geography is destiny.
I was standing there and going, what
I need is somebody who's turned on to this climate project who
also understands some geospatial thinking, who also understands
the Continental Divide trail, and in walks Sam.
[LAUGHTER]
It's really interesting to hear that he was kind of adrift,
right?
Because what I've seen of him, he
is so passionate about the work he does.
And I think for me in my work here, that's what's so special,
is pulling in: what about our students' lives
outside of school, makes them better
students in the classroom?
You bring the street cred of investment and willingness
to embrace something new.
What we're looking for here is assessing oxygenation.
SAM: Jacki is the kind of professor
who really encourages her students
to get on the technical side of the outdoor industry.
The Advanced Technological Education program
takes you down a slightly different avenue and says,
not only are you going to gain these technological skills,
but we're going to help bridge to real life employers.
We are going to use this geospatial tool
that you and your peers developed in class.
SAM: We have incredible data gaps
around these glacial regions and these ice fields
where we're not getting climate data collection.
And so to be part of the work that
becomes that solution is an experience that I'll never
forget.
If we're catching the water here, we've got the sediment
and we're sending it towards the river versus away.
KARRI: Not only are we accomplishing meaningful work
on the ground, you guys are becoming
really proficient in these essential skill
sets that make you more efficient at a job, a career.
So just so that I'm clear, the National Science Foundation
and the ATE are providing support for us?
How does that work?
Great question.
I think many people are familiar with the National Science
Foundation.
They, in turn fund the Advanced Technological Education or ATE
program.
Really has an emphasis specifically
on two-year community colleges and meeting
the mission of advancing scientific literacy
in the nation.
SAM: After drifting for a while and not really knowing
where I was aiming, I do feel like I've found
what I want to do with my life.
I feel very confident.
I can leave this world now and know
Sam is going to be-- going to be self sufficient
and have a lot of skills, valuable skills.
He's found a place to land in a place
where he is focused and has--
it's just a big change.
I think I'm the most proud of what is yet
to come when I think about Sam.
I'm pretty dang proud of myself.
[LAUGHTER]
A couple of years ago, I would not have imagined myself
in this position.
I'm immensely grateful to be pursuing an education that
will lead into not just a profitable
career, but a fulfilling one where I'm out doing work
in the backcountry that will work
towards the sustainability of it and the use of it
for future generations.
[MUSIC PLAYING]