IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting Spring 2023, all non-driver trip participant spots will be selected at random due to high demand. Links will accept sign-ups until 12AM Sunday.
Join this rare and amazing opportunity to have two professors from completely different sectors on an island with fun foxes! We will be with two iconic Peaks Professors: Pharmacology Terry Church and IR Professor Nina Rathbun. We will be camping for two nights on Santa Cruz Island and doing long hikes, sitting beach side, hanging out and having the time of our lives on an island national park!
We will take a ferry from Ventura Friday morning, and take a return voyage Sunday afternoon.
PACKING LIST:
LOTS of layers! Temps can be anywhere from 40-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring warm clothes for night, layers for hiking, etc.
A raincoat (we’re not in LA anymore)
Dramamine / anti-nausea medication for the boat ride if you need it
Sturdy hiking boots/shoes
Beach shoes + clothes
A sleeping bag & pad if you have them
Flashlight/Headlamp
Mess kit: 1-2 bowls/tupperwares, fork, knife, spoon, napkins.
Toothbrush & general life items
Sunglasses, sunscreen, hat
Snacks! Everyone has that ~one kind of bar~ they can’t live without.
Camera (if you have one!)
H2O- 2-3 full liters per person! hydration is cool
WAIVERS
WE WILL PROVIDE:
Sleeping bags/pads if you don’t have one already!
Tents
Friday Dinner, Saturday Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner, Sunday Breakfast (BYO Friday and Sunday Lunch).
Ferry Tickets
A Channel-Islands-Worthy playlist
PROFESSOR: TERRY CHURCH
DEPARTMENT: Pharmacology
RATE MY PROFESSOR: “Church is an absolute dog.”
Dr. Terry Church is an Assistant Professor in Regulatory and Quality Sciences at the USC School of Pharmacy. He specializes in patterns of addiction, the history and geography of drugs, and the regulation of controlled substances. He has given a presentation on “The Science Behind the Hangover” and teaches a course called “Buzzed: Modern Substances of Abuse and Addiction.” Dr. Church is a cyclist in his spare time, and he has completed his second AIDS LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
PROFESSOR: NINA RATHBUN
DEPARTMENT: IR
RATE MY PROFESSOR: “wonderful teacher!”
Before Nina Rathbun was a beast in the IR department, she was a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. State Department on multilateral nuclear nonproliferation. After that, she got her PhD in Political Science at UC Berkeley. Her areas of expertise are international economic globalization, political economy, and democratization in post-Communist states. But don’t be intimidated! She’s the Director of Undergraduate Studies, a fellowships advisor, and an avid mentor of students, so she’s full of life advice for undergrads from any major!
PEAK: SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
DIFFICULTY: 5/5
SCENERY: Be on an island with pretty views of the ocean, tide pools, clear beaches and just all around amazing nature
FUN FACT: It is the largest of channel islands!
TRIP LEAD: HUDI Potash
Ask him about bears: cocaine bear, paddington, revenant, any and all bears
Contact Hudi: ypotash@usc.edu
Read Hudi’s bio here.