Today we will be highlighting Gabi Chavez! Gabi is the
2nd scientist on the ship and is a unique staff member on our journey. In 2015,
Gabi was a Stanford at Sea student herself; after finishing the program, Gabi
knew she had found a passion and started working for SEA. An avid adventurer,
always looking for new experiences, Gabi claims the craziest thing she has done
is sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a Polish family after just meeting
them online. She is curious, empathetic, and open minded, always a calming presence
to have in the lab and a wonderful teacher as well. Gabi reminds us to keep
seeking new adventures and to pursue passions.
She's not sure what's up next in her life plan, but
will always keep a connection to the ocean. In between voyages at sea, Gabi
volunteers for the Western Service Workers Association, reorganizing resources
and improving conditions for low-income service workers. Gabi is an inspiration
in all she does and is a great presence to have on the ship both
as a former Stanford at Sea student and an even-keeled, compassionate member of
the crew.
-Lindsay Allison
Here is our quick interview with Gabi!
GABI
Hometown: Pacific Grove, CA
Hobbies: Reading, origami, tide pooling, doodling in my
notebook
Favorite Book: The Little Prince
Favorite Place to Travel: I haven't been able to go back to visit my family in
Venezuela in a few years and really want to go soon.
How long have you been sailing? Two years almost exactly. I sailed for the first time on the last Stanford at Sea.
What draws you to sailing: I have always loved travelling
so to find a place where I live and work on the move has been the perfect fit
for me.
Worst job on the ship: Cleaning conditioner and hairballs
out of the showers. I'd
rather be cleaning the heads! (Author note: heads are the ships bathrooms)
What are you looking forward to most on this trip: I
really didn't know much
about the destinations of this trip but when I learned we were visiting an
island with a population of less than 60 people, I was intensely interested.
Palmerston just might be the highlight of the trip, but I've never been to Tonga or American Samoa either so
I'm excited to see what
they hold!
Favorite sea creature (or the one you relate with most):
I have love for a lot of creatures. On the small end, I love velella velella, blue siphonophores that are called by-the-wind-sailors. On the big end, I hope
to one day see a blue whale. Their tongues weigh as much as an elephant, their
hearts are as big as a sedan, calves gain as much as 200 pounds a day, to find myself next to the earth's
largest-ever creature would make me feel small in a good way.
It takes somebody of great ability to handle the
combined immaturity of Ben and A Watch in the lab, and Gabi definitely has that
ability. -Mike Burnett, Stanford@Sea student
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