What really caught my interest was the Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL) at Rutgers University.  As an undergraduate the faculty showed me the many new tools available to monitor the ocean's conditions.  I was particularly struck how when they combined multiple technologies to get a larger picture of the coastal oceans and the sum was definitely greater than the parts.    I have used many of these technologies including gliders, high frequency radars, drifters, moorings and satellite imagery. I helped with the first attempt at flying a glider across the Atlantic Ocean.  Our goal was to send a glider to Spain via the Gulf Stream.  I help by providing an opinion in path planning decisions and finding a safe and feasible landing zone in Spain.  An interesting part of the mission was when the glider entered the eddy fields after the Gulf Stream splits.  Although text books often offer a brief sentence saying that this eddy field "exists", we had no idea how turbulent it actually would be.  Twice during the mission the glider had to make large loops around these eddies in order to get back on track. Unfortunately after five months of work and 200 km from the coast of the Azores, we lost the glider to a leak.  Although we were sad to not complete our mission, we as a group of undergraduate students set the world record in distance traveled by an underwater glider.  This effort has opened up many more opportunities for long distance flights in the future.  

This past summer I was fortunate enough to partake in an internship with an environmental engineering company in Spain.  I am a Physical Oceanography and Spanish major and I have been studying Spanish for the past 10 years.  The combination of my oceanography background and Spanish skills made me an ideal candidate for the position.  I spent 10 weeks in Spain, working for a company called Qualitas Instruments (CODAR Europe).  While I was there I worked on processing CODAR data and helped out with field work.  I had the opportunity to travel around to nearly all corners of Spain to work on HF radar stations.  I learned an incredible amount in the field and enjoyed every minute of it.  By the end of the summer, my Spanish skills had greatly improved and I had helped fix a station in Galicia and installed two new stations in the ports of Masnou and Barcelona.  

As much as I appreciate the theoretical side and books that are normally associated with learning, I think that field experience is equally important.  Having a thorough understanding of the instruments you are working with is essential.  If a situation arises in the field, you need some on who is quick on their feet and who is a problem solver.  I now have these skills after working on both gliders in the lab and setting up and repairing CODAR sites.  The COOL group recognizes that both academic performance and field work are essential in learning oceanography and encourages its students to excel in both.

The COOL group really gives their undergraduates a lot of responsibility.  As an undergrad I have deployed and recovered gliders many times.  Although it's really fun to go out on a boat for the day and run tests on the gliders you still are responsible for the equipment and safety.  Also when we are in the lab the professors really take your opinion seriously.  The undergrads and professors often work together on the glider projects.  It is an excellent way to get introduced to ocean observing and you build strong bonds for the future.