Before she enrolled in Earth’s Global Environment: Iceland, Kristen French ’17 had never seen a glacier up close, waded into a natural hot spring, or tasted the traditional Icelandic meal known as a pylsa. Now she has, and it has broadened the biology major’s world immeasurably. After all, she recalled, “It’s one thing to learn about science and culture in a classroom; it is another thing to go out and experience it.”
French was one of 10 students and three faculty members who recently traveled to the Nordic island nation to conduct research of their own design in what she called “the Mecca of geology.” Every time she turned around, French saw something new: waterfalls, glaciers, lava flows – even sheep grazing in a nearby field. What struck her most about Iceland was how unspoiled it is – in the best possible way.
“There was so little development, and definitely not the kind of cities we are used to in the U.S.,” she recalled. “Overall I was left with a feeling of reverence for the environment. Everything is so undisturbed.”
French’s research during the trip centered on the search for lichens – complex organisms composed of fungus and algae that often form on rocks, trees and the ground – in areas where volcanoes have erupted. The size of the lichens provides valuable information about how much time has elapsed since the eruption. (The larger the lichen, the more time has passed.) By extension, the lichens can also yield important clues as to how the earth’s climate is changing. French combined her research with that of another student, tracking various species of plants and animals and finding, as they expected, that the bigger (and, therefor, older) the lichens were, the more species were present around them.
While they were engaged in their work, French and her classmates also had the opportunity to see the country, visiting glaciers and waterfalls; exploring a large lava flow on Heimaey, an island off the nation’s coast; and spotting seabirds known as puffins. They also met other scientists from around the world, including Germany, France and Australia, and spoke to some of them about their work.
She is back on the Le Moyne campus now, but these memories are never far from French’s mind. The experience of traveling to Iceland made her a “stronger and more passionate person.” It filled with the confidence in what she will be able to accomplish in the future.
She put it this way: “If I can conquer Iceland, I can conquer a job interview and then the job itself.”
French’s trip to Iceland was funded in part by The O’Leary International Travel Grants Program, which provides financial awards of up to $2,000 to help offset travel costs for students in Le Moyne’s College of Arts and Sciences participating in study abroad programs. This grant program is administered by the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences and funded by a gift from the estate of Dr. Harriet L. O’Leary, professor emerita of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
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Biology at Le Moyne
Study Abroad