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In 1977 I went my fellow students in grade 6 from St. Vincent’s School in Mission Hills on my first field trip to the Fleet Science Center. The documentary our class saw in the Giant Dome theatre was on Earth’s natural disasters including hurricanes, tornados and volcanoes. I will never forget seeing the power and scale of Mother Nature in spectacular display on that amazing screen and learning about how such events occur and their powerful impact.
Less than four years later, on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the State of Washington. Because of what I had learned at the Fleet, I took great interest in the volcanic event, which became the lead story of world news and was the topic of conversations everywhere. I took it upon myself to read and study what became the largest and most damaging volcanic eruption in U.S. history. I learned about its preceding earthquakes, steam venting, and shallow high-heat magma below the mountain and I instantly became the Mount St. Helens eruption expert at my family dinner table. In fact, my folks were so impressed they had me give a presentation on the Mount St. Helens eruption to their friends at a dinner party when I was 13 years old.
I was inspired by my experience at the Fleet Science Center just like so many of the more than 26 million visitors that have come to the Fleet since its opening in 1973. Now I am helping the Fleet inspire today’s youth throughout San Diego County.
Although I did not become a scientist, as the new Director of Major and Principal Gifts at the Fleet Science Center, I am proud to be a part of a talented team dedicated to cultivating fundraising support for the Fleet’s mission to connect everyone in San Diego County to the power of science.
I grew up in San Diego and like many of you I have visited the Fleet with family again and again. I have always admired the Fleet Science Center as a key cultural institution in our city but, since joining the Fleet in March, I have been very impressed to learn of the organization’s remarkable county-wide reach.
Year over year, the Fleet Science Center has increased its footprint by partnering with the community to co-create programs and initiatives. The Fleet now reaches 100% of San Diego County ZIP codes, collaborating with educators, schools, school districts, libraries, scientists, engineers, volunteers, donors, companies, other non-profit organizations and government representatives.
As Director of Major and Principal Gifts, I am proud of the work the Fleet is doing and dedicated to working with our tremendous donors who together champion the mission of the Fleet Science Center and its ever-growing presence in San Diego County. I look forward to meeting you in the coming year and hearing your story of why the Fleet and its mission to connect all San Diegans to the power and possibility of science, is important to you.
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