S
ometimes I stop what I am doing and daydream about a class I took seven months ago. I think about the manatee that swam by me in Zane Grey Creek, fishing for sharks with my friends after hours of identifying snails in the lab, the fresh seafood I mowed on at Whale Harbor Buffet, and the nights we spent hours trying memorize fish, sponges, and algae for the practical exam.
Marine Biology, the three-week summer course in the Florida Keys, is the best course I have taken at Hillsdale. Not simply because you live on an island but also because of the immersion into the subject, the relationships you develop, and the dedication of the instructor.
Taking a course in the Keys, taught by Professor of Biology Anthony Swinehart, is not Margaritaville. Jimmy Buffett Radio is the closest you’ll get to any booze in a blender. It’s exhausting work.
Swinehart plans the trip and invests his time and money to make the class affordable. It costs $1,800, cheaper than taking a course at Hillsdale or any study abroad program. You don’t have to pay for a plane ticket, either. It’s also open to the entire student body, even if you’re not a biology major or minor.
But the expectations are high whether you are a B.S. or a history major, such as myself. You’ll spend hours repeating the genus, family, and species of spiny urchins and milk conchs. After you spend a full day in the hot Caribbean sun conducting research, you’ll search through a cubic centimeter of sediment for dozens of snail species. It’s challenging but so enjoyable that you hardly realize you’re always working. Strength rejoices in long days of biology in the Florida Keys, or something.
Marine Biology satisfied my deep need for fieldwork in a rare environment in which a professor and students have a willingness to be uncomfortable, dirty, and tired. That’s how it goes in Swinehart’s class, and by the end of it you’ve learned a great deal, made new friends, and created lasting memories.