by 
By Mya Van Slyke
I am so grateful to STEMSEAS as it has given me the most in-depth science/oceanic experience I have ever been a part of. I was learning the ways of the ship, helping with CTD casts, and I even got to move an arm of the ship’s ROV! On top of the mind-blowing science, I was also given the opportunity to be somewhere I had never been, the islands of Hawai’i. It was no surprise that Hawai’i was going to be entirely different than Texas (where I’ve lived my entire life). The food, the culture, the climate, everything was something new to experience. What I wasn’t prepared for though, was the beauty of the skies.
I have seen some amazing sunsets while living in Texas, but nothing has compared to the sunsets I’ve seen while on the Kilo Moana. In the span of one night, a sunset will change into 3 entirely different color schemes. There were a couple of nights with weather that didn’t give quite the same beauty, but on our second to last night, we had the best one yet. It’s hard to describe the feeling you have when you see a sunset like that, but the best way I can put it is admiration. I immediately snapped some pictures so I could show my friends and family back home (shown below). Luckily my phone captured it well enough, even getting my family jealous!
What my phone couldn’t capture, however, were the stars. During one of the STEMSEAS movie nights, we were told to go look at the stars. At first, I wasn’t impressed with the 10-15 stars apparent to me. But when we decided to lay on the floor and stare for a little longer, and our eyes got adjusted to the night sky, I couldn’t even count the number of stars I could see. I was even told that we were looking at the Milky Way! I can’t begin to express how beautiful it was, but I guess some things are just meant to be experienced firsthand.
Thank you to the STEMSEAS program, my peers on this experience with me, and especially to the welcoming Kilo Moana and Lu’ukai crew for this amazing adventure! I am so happy with my time in Hawai’i, and now I have some great friends, memories, and knowledge to take with me!
Photo Credit: Mya Van Slyke
