My journey to undergraduate degree completion has at times been a difficult one, complete with a couple of false starts, but these difficulties have only strengthened my resolve to achieve my goals and encourage my peers to do the same. Growing up, my family transplanted to a new place promising better jobs every six months to a year. Although I hated this process as a child, I now recall it with some fondness, as my siblings and I were able to experience so much of the country. These frequent moves were, however, mostly to locations experiencing environmental destruction and the effects of a changing climate; e.g., West Texas droughts and wildfires. These first-hand experiences inspired my initial interest in environmental science and ultimately led me to be the first of my family to attend college. After graduating high school at the age of 16, I attempted to navigate college on my own, but after a short time, I ended up leaving school because of lack of funds. I then worked a series of low-paying jobs and was homeless on several occasions. I thought I had missed my opportunity for higher education, but upon moving to Portland in 2012, I began taking community college classes and, within a year, was co-enrolled at Portland State University. At that point, I was certain of my educational goals, knew that I had the resilience and persistence to succeed, and was better able to utilize the supports and opportunities available to me.

While at PSU, I have sought out numerous professional and personal development opportunities to build my research and leadership skills while supporting my community. In addition to an REU experience at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution the summer of 2016, I have participated in local undergraduate research experiences as a PSU Urban Honors student and a 2015 Ronald E. McNair Scholar. With regard to leadership and service, I am currently a Student Advisory Board member for the PSU Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM (LSAMP) program and a TRIO Student Support Services Peer Outreach Mentor and am employed as a PSU University Studies Peer Mentor and a Peer Mentor for the National Institutes of Health Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity through Enhancing Cross-disciplinary Infrastructure Training at Oregon (BUILD EXITO) program.

I will be graduating the end of this term and look forward to the future. This spring I was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and will be continuing my journey in academia this fall at the University of Washington as a Ph.D. student in Physical Oceanography upon return from a research cruise in the Southern Pacific this summer. 

I am grateful for my time at PSU and the support of my advisors and instructors. TRIO Student Support Services and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM (LSAMP), have been instrumental in my success at Portland State. My advisors Dr. Suzanne Estes (LSAMP), Andrea Griggs (TRIO), Linda Liu (TRIO), and Roslyn Taylor (TRIO) have helped me from class selection and financial aid to research placement and writing support for scholarships and applications. Dr. Andrew Fountain (PSU Geology) served as my McNair Scholars research mentor and continues to be a guiding force as I move forward. There are many more who have helped me in my journey that are not named here. I would not be where I am today without them.

Kimberly Gottschalk, a senior majoring in Environmental Science, is moving forward. From Texas to Oregon, she has overcome many obstacles that once stood in her way. Kimberly was awarded the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship which will pay for a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography at the University of Washington starting Fall 2017 and is graduating in June 2017.