5 minute read
Sister Spotlight: Shae Kosmalski
Sometimes a degree in engineering can lead you to unexpected places...
For Sharon (Shae) Kosmalski, it led her all over the United States and into a life with sled dogs. Shae is a Forest Engineer with the US Forest Service at Fremont-Winema National Forest in Lakeview, Oregon and was one of the Founders of Alpha Sigma Kappa – Women in Technical Studies during her time at the University of Minnesota.
Advertisement
SHAE KOSMALSKI
ALUM | ALPHA CHAPTER UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA | 1989-1994
L∞P: Where did you grow up?
SK: I was born in St. Paul and grew up in Babbitt, in northeast Minnesota.
L∞P: What was your major in school?
SK: I started in Chemical Engineering because my siblings, an older brother and younger sister, were both chemical engineers. When we got to quantum chemistry, my brain decided it wasn’t going there. I switched to Civil Engineering because a lot of chemistry would apply, but it was real and in front of you.
L∞P: How did you end up studying engineering?
SK: I was a late bloomer. In high school, math and science were incomprehensible to me…I sucked at it. I had my daughter when I was young and having her prompted me to go back to college. What a difference a couple of years makes! I did my first two years at a community college and once I had this really good GPA and was doing well in math and science, I went to UMN because they had a good technical reputation.
L∞P: You were one of the Founders of Alpha Sigma Kappa; how did you first become involved with ΑΣΚ?
SK: They were the Little Sisters of Triangle. I think I walked up to a rush meeting all on my own, I must have seen it in the University paper. The University is so big, I kind of felt lost there… I really felt lost there. I was looking for some way to meet some folks, some gals particularly, and I wanted to have fun too. These were a bunch of gals who were in science and attached to this engineering fraternity. I was primarily there for moral support. There were some amazing gals who had the time and the drive – it was pretty cool.
L∞P: What is one great memory you have of ΑΣΚ?
SK: We had some kind of an event where the Brothers and the Sisters split into groups and did these skits. Ours had us starting out young and beautiful then transforming into old ladies. It was a lot of fun!
L∞P: Do you stay in touch with your ΑΣΚ Sisters?
SK: Yes, my Little and a couple of the other gals that are Founders. Now, social media has gotten me involved again.
L∞P: If a student was considering joining ΑΣΚ, would you recommend it to her and why?
SK: Absolutely, for the exact same reason why I looked to ΑΣΚ – that combination of social support and academic support – you’re part of a family, you’re part of a tribe.
L∞P: Can you describe the career path that led you to your current job?
SK: The best advice I ever received was to try to get a job with the Forest Service, because they hire Civil Engineers and there’s always a shortage, because it’s not what you think it is. I did seasonal work which turned into a co-op and then three seasons in Park Falls, WI after graduation. As a Forest Service Civil Engineer, I have moved around a lot and lived in all these beautiful forest locations: Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado and Oregon. Careerwise, I really like where I am right now. I supervise a small group of engineers and get to go out and still be a little technical doing bridge designs.
L∞P: What is your biggest achievement in life to date?
SK: My daughter. She is in health services and works in adult special ed. She is all about taking care of other people. She also writes the most wonderful hand-written notes in my Mother’s Day and birthday cards every year. Her daughter, my granddaughter, is the love of my life. She helps me reconnect with the fun and goofy side of myself. I’ve been fortunate to live really close to them and spend a lot of time with them; we have lots of adventures. I had her running a dog sled team when she was eight and she became an awesome mountain biker this summer (at 12).
L∞P: So, sled dogs...
SK: It’s my life. I got my first two dogs when I was 30 and was recovering from back surgery. As they got older and would run down the trail ahead of me, I thought “I wonder if they would pull me.” I decided to get my first Siberian when the other dogs got older. Siberians are kind of a special breed. It’s that crazy energy, especially when it gets cold…they go bonkers. To see their purpose come out in them, seeing the instincts kick in… usually within one run they are like “oh yeah, this is what I’m all about”.
L∞P: What kind of people have you met running sled dogs?
SK: When I started going to races, I was volunteering and getting to know the racers. There are mushers in every nook and cranny across the country. I met an older gentleman from Montana, who had a Doctorate in math and had been breeding Siberians for racing. He just started talking to me and teaching me and telling me things and became my mentor. I was eager and ate it up. I had to gain his trust to run his dogs. I also met my ex-husband at a huskies conference – he was a speaker. I fell in love with a man with 30 dogs and he fell so hard in love with me that he moved those 30 dogs from Alaska to Idaho. After we separated, I took some time to decide what running dogs really meant to me. I slowly started adding a dog here and there; now I have 14.
L∞P: What does a typically day as a musher look like for you?
SK: I get up, whether I want to or not, and take about an hour and a half to care for the dogs before going to work. I let everybody run around in the big yard. Over half my dogs are rescues; when I can, I help with rescue transport. It’s a ton of work to get your team ready to run. You have to get the rig and lines, line up screaming dogs, pull yourself free and hope you don’t die. Then you’re there and you’re with the dogs and they get to be a team. When you get back to kennel then you have to undo everything. It’s not like a mountain bike where you can just jump on. I think it’s a great lifestyle for anybody with a mathematical or scientific mind. You have to consider a lot of factors: foods (what kind, what additives, meat or no meat), what kind of harnesses do the dogs like, this leader or that leader, short run or long run… there’s just no end.
L∞P: What do you enjoy most about running dogs and raising them?
L∞P: What kind of dogs do you have?
SK: Two are heelers (they are so smart and love to be sled dogs too), Siberians, Alaskan Huskies, a half-Labrador (the only one with floppy ears). Of the 14, half of them are house dogs. When it was 90 degrees they were all in my house. They are my family, really.
L∞P: What surprised you most about working with sled dogs?
SK: That I’m still doing it. It’s a lot of work and a lot of expense – I’m like a dog rancher. But, the longer I do it, the more I enjoy it.
