Drone photo of Norway’s Mardalsfossen Waterfall

Where many tourists seek out spots via Instagram, Collier scans through the satellite images on Google Earth to find destinations farther afield—which is how he landed at Norway’s Mardalsfossen Waterfall. For this particular shot he flew his drone past a cliff face to get a view of the fjord from a perspective that he could never have gotten from the ground.

Gullfoss Falls, Iceland

Gulfoos Falls by Iceland’s Hvítá River

Shooting in a deep canyon by Iceland’s Hvítá River, Collier had to contend with heavy waterfall mist and 100-mph wind gusts. Every time he snapped a picture he would turn the camera away from the wind, clean the mist off the lens, put the lens cap on, turn the camera back around, compose the image blind, take off the lens cap and immediately take a shot—all while holding down the tripod with his other hand in the Sisyphean hope of somehow keeping it stable.

Vatnajökull Glacier, Iceland

Vatnajökull Glacier, Iceland

Despite having only spent a few weeks there, Collier puts Iceland at the very top of his list of locations with absolutely jaw-dropping scenery. “There is no place quite like it,” he says. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale.” To get to this ice cave, Collier took a bumpy ride to the base of Vatnajökull Glacier on an all-terrain vehicle with off-road tires that were six feet tall. His girlfriend posed to provide scale for what he described as a “truly otherworldly backdrop.”

Beauty in Your Backyard

Although Collier takes most of his photos far away from big cities, he says that he’s “always on the lookout for magical light that can make any scene come to life.” So when he saw these clouds bursting with color outside his old home in the suburbs of Denver, he quickly set up his camera and tripod in the driveway. After shooting photos for more than three decades, he says he has learned to always be ready to capture moments of beauty. “Sometimes you can find the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

Northern Lights, in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2012

Collier’s first time shooting northern lights, in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2012 (above), almost swore him off the aurora experience entirely. He waited in vain for five hours in -10°F weather without seeing anything, and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a flicker of green light in the sky. It gradually expanded, appearing like “a dancing apparition in the heavens.” Since then he’s visited multiple countries throughout the world photographing the phenomenon, including the Snowy Range in Wyoming (below).

Wyoming Snowy Range Northern Lights

Four Fun Facts About the Northern Lights

• They power communications. In 1859 a 2-hour telegraph conversation between Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine, was made possible without any battery power—there was enough electric current generated in the telegraph wires due to an aurora borealis happening.
• They may actually make an audible sound. While hard to notice in all but the quietest of settings, Finnish researchers found that the faint sound of “whistles, cracks and hisses” tended to coincide with a temperature inversion—cold air trapped under a lid of warm air. They attribute the sounds to the release of static charge, linked to changes in atmospheric electricity caused by the aurora’s disturbance to Earth’s magnetic field.
• They once nearly caused an international conflict. In 1995 a Norwegian research rocket sent to observe the aurora borealis passed through Russian air space, provoking the Russian military to briefly elevate their forces to high alert.
• Yes, there are “southern lights,” also known as “aurora australis.” The areas where they can be seen are generally less populous than the northern variety, but include parts of Tasmania, New Zealand and rural Australia.

Getting More Pacific

Lava flowing from the Big Island of Hawaii into the Pacific Ocean in 2016

When lava began flowing from the Big Island of Hawaii into the Pacific Ocean (above) in 2016, Collier quickly booked a plane ticket there. The park service had closed the road near the lava, so visitors had to walk four miles to see it. But Collier got crafty, renting an e-bike that got him there in 15 minutes, where he had “a rain-drenched evening marveling at the incredible scene.”

Tapuaetai—one of 22 islands in the Aitutaki Lagoon of the Cook Islands, in Polynesia.

Tapuaetai (above) is one of 22 islands in the Aitutaki Lagoon of the Cook Islands, in Polynesia. It has no full-time residents and just a single house with no electricity or running water and, according to Collier, “far too many mosquitoes.” He rented this house for one night, fulfilling his dream of living—ever so briefly—on a desert island. “When the stars came out at night it was a sight to behold,” he says. “I had to remind myself that I was there to take photographs, and not just sit in reverie.”

Beyond the Landscape

Sea stacks on the West coast of the South Island of New Zealand

Sometimes camera effects can be your friend. While driving along the rugged west coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Collier spotted some impressive sea stacks (above) in the water. The lighting wasn’t ideal with such an overcast sky, so he used a light-blocking “neutral-density filter” that allowed him to capture long 30-second exposures that blurred the waves and gave the scene a distinctly dreamy effect.

Drone photo of the geological formations at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah

Collier was perusing Google Earth one day when he discovered a curiosity in nearby Utah: the Mars Desert Research Station (above), where scientists spend weeks-long shifts simulating Martian environments, down to the detail of wearing spacesuits and air supply packs. Collier captured the 30-acre space by flying a drone in a grid-like pattern, stitching together more than 200 photos to create the final image. “The beautiful, lifeless landscape really did resemble Mars in such an uncanny and surreal way,” he says.

Hollywood Sign Hike

Two days after first-years move into their residence halls in August, they embark on Orientation Adventure (OA) trips. Launched in 1995, the program aims to help new students get acquainted with each other and their SoCal surroundings. For three days, students experience wilderness, cultural and entertainment options in L.A. and beyond, from bouldering in Palm Springs, to hiking the Sequoias, to camping in San Bernardino National Forest. As Outdoor Education Center Manager Connor Bigenho put it, “it’s the first-year students’ first chance to make some friends, and make some memories.”

 A sample of feedback from this year’s OA-ers:

At other schools, orientation is just another thing you do on campus; here you get to actually know your classmates by going on an adventure together.”

OA-ers at Camp Arbolado, a wilderness retreat in Angelus Oaks.

It was so great to be able to soak in nature with a bunch of new people.”

Bonelli Bluffs in San Dimas

You can really be present with others when you’re in a different environment like this.”

Visit Frank Dining Hall for brunch, and most days you will find Teo Ibarra on the back patio, bantering with students while serving up made-to-order omelets. Ibarra has worked at Pomona for 12 years and is considered by many to be a Pomona mainstay. It’s hard to tell if students love Ibarra or his omelets more, but it’s safe to say that both have reached legendary status.

1. Work at Pomona in the ’90s as a dishwasher on the weekends while doing construction during the week.
2. Take a full-time position with Sodexo (the food services company at Pomona at the time), who pays for you to attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York. “I couldn’t say no to that,” says Ibarra. “I’d have to be out of my mind.” Become a manager with Sodexo at other universities across the country and eventually at Disneyland.
3. Apply to work as a cook at Pomona again, seeking a shorter commute and better work-life balance. Cook in Oldenborg Dining Hall for seven years.
4. Ask to take over making omelets when the current omelet chef retires.
5. Pour love into your cooking. Ibarra preps at least 20 fresh ingredients for the omelets each day, chopping vegetables and cooking meats to perfection beforehand.
6. Talk to students while making omelets. Get to know them by name and ask about their interests. “The students motivate me the most,” he says.
7. Remember people’s orders. Many students are regulars at the omelet bar, getting the same order every day. “I know what they want, what they like and how they want it.”
8. Gain perspective on life through a major health issue. Ibarra experienced a brain aneurysm during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I really thought I was going to go. They opened my head,” says Ibarra. “Ever since, I see life totally different. And if I can help someone, I can. I go the extra mile. I would do it even if they don’t appreciate it. We’re all humans. We all sleep, breathe, die, so why not be the best you can be?”
9. Let students reciprocate the care you show them. Ibarra experienced an outpouring of support from students and alumni while in the hospital. A GoFundMe organized on his behalf raised close to $26,000. “I’ve been blessed,” he says.
10. Make something you can’t eat yourself. Ibarra, ironically, is allergic to eggs. “I get hives all over my body.”

Schwarzman Scholar

New environments have always fascinated Lydia Haile ’22, a Coloradan and first-generation college student whose curiosity led her to Pomona and now is taking her across the globe.

Haile is pursuing a master’s degree in global affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, thanks to the one-year scholarship. At Tsinghua she will attend lectures, travel and deepen her understanding of the world’s second-most populous country.

“I’m excited to immerse myself in an environment I would not find myself in otherwise,” Haile says. “I’m at a stage in life where I can just pack up and move, simply for the sake of learning.”

A neuroscience major, Haile was chosen as one of 150 scholars from 4,200 applicants. After graduation, she became an operations specialist at the Obesity Medicine Association and helped launch the nonprofit Global Medical Relief for Tigray (GMRT) to address health care needs in Tigray, Ethiopia, raising funds for medical supplies for a hospital affected by the 2020 conflict.

Being of Tigrayan descent herself, Haile views her involvement with GMRT as an opportunity “to utilize my skills to enact long-lasting change.”

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Haile hopes to leverage her diverse background to develop interdisciplinary solutions spanning global affairs, medicine, technology and language.

“This opportunity is invaluable,” she says, “There’s so much I have yet to experience, and by gaining a broader perspective, I simply can’t lose.”

Find out more at pomona.edu/news/2024/06/24-schwarzman-scholar-lydia-haile-22-embraces-opportunity-live-and-learn-abroad.

Udall Scholar

For someone entering her junior year, Arianna Lawrence ’26 has already built an impressive resume. She interned with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the New York City Commission on Human Rights and the San Francisco Environmental Department. She is an EcoRep in Pomona’s sustainability office and a student manager of ReCoop, helping students recover and reuse clothing, furniture and other items. And now, she’s been recognized for her sustained involvement and potential for environmental leadership by being named one of 55 Udall Scholars for 2024, earning a $7,000 scholarship.

“I’ve always been interested in environmentalism, in how inequities can manifest in physical spaces,” says Lawrence. “I’m from Brooklyn. Nobody [there] has backyards. Nobody has green spaces.” What Lawrence did have in her New York community, though, was a high school where she could pursue a major. She chose Law and Society, with an interest in environmental organizing.

Lawrence remembers being inspired by the 2019 New York City Climate Strike, where tens of thousands marched for climate action. The next summer, as a rising high school senior, she interned with the Natural Resources Defense Council and joined a youth coalition for the United Nations Environmental Program, focusing on youth involvement in environmental policymaking.

At Pomona Lawrence majors in public policy analysis with an emphasis on environmental issues, aiming for a career in urban planning, zoning law or environmental litigation. “It’s exciting to figure out my niche in environmentalism and policy,” she says.

Find out more at pomona.edu/news/2024/05/29-udall-scholarship-recognizes-pomona-student-environmental-involvement.

Goldwater Scholar

Daniel Gao ’25, a molecular biology major, was awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, established by Congress in 1986 for students in science, engineering and mathematics. This year 437 Scholars were selected out of a pool of over 5,000 students.

Since his sophomore year Gao has conducted research in the lab of chemistry professor Malkiat Johal, using surface-chemistry tools to look at “receptor-ligand interactions” that are involved in blood clotting. They are also probing the physiological significance of the interactions beyond the chemistry.

Gao’s interest in blood clotting began at a young age when his grandfather experienced a stroke. “That was the sort of alarm,” he says. “It’s a very niche type of work, but it’s been a big passion of mine.”

Gao sought out Johal because he was interested in the convergence of the biology of blood clotting with Johal’s background in surface chemistry. “Having the different perspectives brings a lot to the table in terms of the interdisciplinary aspect of our research,” says Gao.

Along with conducting research this summer, Gao applied to M.D.-Ph.D. programs with the goal of beginning a program in fall 2025.

The future physician hopes to create new tools for diseases, particularly in the realm of blood clotting. “A big part of being an M.D.-Ph.D. is [to] translate basic science into clinical tools,” says Gao. “That’s something I want to do: being proficient in both, and having both perspectives.”

Find out more at pomona.edu/news/2024/06/06-daniel-gao-25-named-2024-goldwater-scholar.