Our class recently was able to participate in yet another Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants talk, this time by National Geographic Explorer Alizé Carrére. Alizé is such a fascinating person, and this talk is one I am not soon to forget.
Leading up to this presentation, we were able to watch the video series that Alizé has recently put out. In these videos, Alizé is joined by a naturalist who has been an explorer for decades, and they travel around the world retracing the steps of historic voyagers, while also learning what it means to be a modern explorer. I though that the approach this series took, learning what it means to be a modern explorer, by learning what exploring has meant across generations, was a very intriguing one. A long time ago, exploring actually meant discovering new places that no one had ever been before. Now, most places are mapped out, and a lot about the world is already known. Even from her cohost, Tom Ritchie’s first days of being an explorer, so much has changed.
Exploring has gone from discovering the unknown, to collecting artifacts and baubles from around the world, to learning about each different place, and seeing what can be done to help protect the history and natural environment that makes each of these locations so stunning. To me, what exploring truly means is to be curious about the world around you, and being willing to go out and try to see what can be learned, and where that curiosity could take you.
Below, I have attached the first episode of this series, where Alizé and Tom introduce the series, and explore Tom’s very own collection of artifacts from his decades as a professional explorer. Watch, and see if you can find out what your own definition of a Modern Explorer is!
Aside from the tales of her fabulous adventures, Alizé discussed some of the things that make her journeys possible. As we know, Alizé works for National Geographic, as a professional explorer. In order to first break into this field, however, she applied for a grant from National Geographic, to fund a project that she had come up with on her own. She went onto the National Geographic Grants page, and simply began filling out an application. She reviewed it with professors and peers, and was successful! She was officially off to Madagascar, and her journey as an explorer had begun.
One thing that I noticed about her journey, and also connected to Brooke and Quinlan’s talk from last week, was that the key to making things happen in your life is getting up, going out, and talking to people. A lot of people have experienced what it is to be in the world, and have experiences that you can benefit from. Reaching out to these people builds connections, and is the key to making your dreams a reality.
This talk was so interesting, learning about Alizé’s work in Madagascar, her view on what it is to be a modern explorer, and her advice on how you might one day become an explorer too. I really enjoyed this talk, and will be sure to keep up with all of Alizé’s travels in the future. Speaking of, feel free to explore more about Alizé, National Geographic, or Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants’s current event “Women Blaze Trails”, by starting with the links below!
AP Biology 
Hi Abby! I loved your blog post, I think that you did an amazing job introducing Alize and explaining what she does for a living. I also really liked the way that you explained how the meaning of an explorer has changed over the various generations. I think that adding the video was a very nice touch so that the viewer can get a concrete idea of what Alize and her friend Tom do. Your connection to Quinlan and Brooke’s talk was also a strong one and gave me a nice opportunity to reflect. My one piece of feedback would be to maybe talk a little more about how you viewed that talk and how it has maybe influenced you. Great blog post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Abby, nice work including resources for your readers to learn more. I’m glad you enjoyed Alizé’s talk so much. I did too!
LikeLike