In 1996, I enrolled as a freshman at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan, located in the Keewenaw Peninsula which I honestly believe is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. During my senior year at Airport High School, 40 minutes south of Detroit, I was recruited to run Cross Country by MTU’s Coach Gary Nichols who had a thick Yooper accent inherited from his Finnish ancestors. He was a wonderful coach and he also coached me in Nordic Skiing and Track & Field. Coach Nichols and my teammates were like extended family. As much as my life revolved around endurance sports, I did also enjoy the vast majority of my classes. It was through majoring in environmental engineering, playing on three Varsity sports teams, competing in Ultimate Frisbee tournaments, going on multiple hiking trips with a scouting club, and being involved in a couple of environmental clubs all in a beautiful setting, that I was certainly becoming more and more in love with nature.