How does someone end up working at the poles? Marie won’t pretend that everything in her life led up to it. The truth, she says, is chance and a good dose of luck. But ever since she first saw those endless white landscapes, breathed the crisp air at −25°C, and felt the joy of standing on sea ice, the polar regions have fascinated her, and every step since has been a deliberate one.
Her journey south actually began at the other end of the world, in Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic. She spent a total of three years there, studying Arctic marine ecology and working on Svalbard reindeer projects. Then she was offered the chance to write her master’s thesis on chinstrap penguins from the South Orkney Islands. Like any sane person, she said yes, and dove headfirst into the waters of the “other” pole.
That fascination led to a PhD with Penguin Watch. After years of studying penguins from afar, this season she will finally see them in the wild, and she can’t wait to share that moment with everyone on board.
