Alaska Expedition

An Interview with Roman Dial

Meet National Geographic Expert Roman Dial. A professor at Alaska Pacific University, Roman teaches courses in ecology, outdoor skills, and math. He has climbed, hiked, and skied across the major mountain ranges of Alaska. Roman will join the group on the Kenai Peninsula.

What first brought you to Alaska and why have you stayed?

When I was nine and my friends headed to summer camps, I went to the end of the road in the Alaska Range. There I stayed with my three uncles who worked in a mining camp. To keep me busy they gave me a motorcycle and a wolf-dog for a companion. With the freedom and adventure I had that summer, I knew there was only one place I wanted to be. So as soon as I graduated high school, I moved to Alaska. That was almost 35 years ago.

What were you most passionate about as a teenager?

My passions as a kid were outdoor adventures: road biking (mountain bikes hadn’t yet been invented), rock and ice climbing, wilderness backpacking and cross-country skiing. I was also very interested in geography and wildlife.

What aspect of your work as an educator, adventurer, or otherwise are you most proud of?

As an educator, I pioneered foreing and adventure travel at our university and the use of statistics in undergraduate senior projects. As an adventurer I am proud of my persistence in “adventure racing” and “packrafting” and “hellbiking” in the 1980s at a time when I was often ridiculed for those activities. Now they are becoming increasingly popular. Similarly, in my science work, being the first to conduct canopy level experiments and discovering the world’s tallest tropical trees in a family of trees that nobody expected has been quite satisfying.

What has been your most challenging assignment with National Geographic?

Riding our mountain bikes the length of the Alaska Range on game trails, gravel bars, and glaciers. (National Geographic magazine, Biking Across the Alaska Range: A Wild Ride, May 1997).

What is an important lesson you have learned through your work (or simply in life)?

Treat others the way you’d like to be treated. Share. And follow your heart.

What do you enjoy most about teaching and working with students?

I am inspired by their energy and insights, their enthusiasm, and their fresh look on life and the world.

Do you have advice for our students heading up to Alaska this summer?

Bring some insect repellent, a journal, binoculars, a camera, and a sense of adventure!

Apply now for this program or call us for more information at 877-877-8759.