Wassup

Hey ski fam! I'm writing to you from frat row at Tufts, the classy neighborhood I'm living in this summer while interning in Boston. Even though I'm technically still in Mass, I feel pretty far away from Williamstown and I miss the Purple Valley and all of you.

While I've mostly been pounding the pavement for training (believe it or not roller skiing  in downtown Boston is kind of a no go...), I have found some cool trails in the area. Due to my geographical disability, I save explorations for after work. Let's just say there was a rush hour traffic incident my first week which viewed through the rose-colored glasses of retrospection could be called an "adventure," but which was really just traumatic. I've sort of recovered.

Nature.

Not bad, eh?

Besides crazy Boston commuting, my internship has been going really well. For those who don't know, I'm interning at OpenBiome, a non-profit which provides fecal transplants through the only national stool bank and also catalyzes research into the human microbiome. Yeah, you read that right. The national stool bank. That's a thing and it's actually some really cool sh*t (the office totally embraces the potty jokes). This week I had the opportunity to attend a conference about the changing landscape of healthcare and the role of technology in shaping medicine. There were some big nerds names there, including Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute, one of the co-founders of the CRISPR technology. I had a total fan girl moment which hopefully my other D3 homies will understand. We even rode the elevator together!! I almost asked him for a pic together for the blog, but then chickened out and opted for a high-quality stealth photo instead.

Feng in the flesh

This past week we had a heat wave that can only be described as disgusting. It was over 95˚ three days in a row. With no AC or fan on the second floor of an old house, I had to resort to some extreme measures to stay cool, including freezing my pajamas before going to bed. Wouldn't recommend. 

Hot in hurr

That's the update for now, but I'll keep you posted as shenanigans develop. Adjusting to city life has certainly been a change, and it's made me realize how much I take for granted. In particular, I've realized just how lucky I am to be surrounded by such supportive, motivated, and inspiring teammates every day at school. I'm heading to Williamstown this weekend and can't wait to see Reb, Sony, and JFields. Hit me up if you're in town! I miss y'all and hope everyone is doing well. 

Big love & rock the cow, 

Becker

City views