PORT ANGELES — The first presenter of 2017 at Peninsula College’s Studium Generale will be author Bob Steelquist.
Steelquist will read from his book, “The Northwest Coastal Explorer” at 12:35 p.m. Thursday in the Little Theater at the college at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., in Port Angeles.
This lecture and reading is free and open to the public.
The book, Steelquist’s 13th, examines the flora, fauna and hidden places of the Pacific coast.
“Writing is learning,” Steelquist said. “Your own passion and curiosity is drawing you. The challenge is in how you package that moment of discovery for the reader.”
Steelquist is a graduate of Peninsula College. While at the college, he worked for the Peninsula Daily News, writing about the outdoors. Meanwhile, he took all the science classes that PC had to offer, wanting to combine journalism with natural resource management.
“I didn’t want to be a scientist, but I wanted to know what they knew,” he said.
While a student at Peninsula College, he met a representative of The Evergreen College in Olympia, who said “look me up when the time is right.”
Armed with his two-year degree, he transferred to Evergreen and obtained both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental studies.
For many years, he worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the education coordinator for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Port Angeles.
In retirement, curiosity, discovery and the natural world continue to inspire him.
At 65, he spends his summers in the Pasayten Wilderness as a volunteer wilderness ranger.
“All of my aspirations and pursuits, I can trace all the way back to PC,” he said.
For more information contact Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.
