This semester student blogger Jon Chikamoto ’12 is studying ecology, energy in the environment, environmental forums … and snowboarding.
Coursework takes place on boards at the foot of Mount Hood, near Portland. “How cool is that?” wrote the environmental sciences student on his blog. “The first few lessons were not kind to me,” he says. “I had trouble sitting in class for a few weeks.” Such hardship.
Now that spring is here, weekends are reserved for surfing at the Oregon coast, where the native Hawaiian alternates between freezing in the waves and toasting by the fire. “Whoever said snowboarding is like surfing is an idiot,” he says. “They are not the same!
“It’s been nearly two months since I surfed in the Galapagos and I was getting some serious withdrawals,” Chikamoto says. The honor society student spent January on a Linfield Study Abroad program in the Galapagos.
“To contrast the species and ecosystems in the Amazon rain forest, we went to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador,” he says. “It was cool to see the variation of species from island to island.” The students spotted blue-footed boobies, penguins, marine and land iguanas, finches and giant tortoises.
“Coming to Linfield has changed the way I look at the world,” he says. “It has shown me just how little I know about myself. Being here makes me want to know more about everything around me.”
Jon Chikamoto ’12
Major: Environmental studies with a focus on policy
Minor: Anthropology
Activities: Greenfield, Club Soccer, SPURS Honor Society, Hawaiian Club, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society
Favorite Linfield memories: First snow day, the Hawaiian Club Lu’au and surfing at the coast
