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Bryan Emerson ’83 describes the thrill of off-grid living while his wife, Laura, sets the record straight. They'll share how they decided to leave their high-rise home in Houston and move to an off-grid log cabin in Alaska, 45 miles from the nearest road. While Bryan had grown up camping, hunting and fishing in Wisconsin, Laura felt totally unprepared to move to bush Alaska. Join them as they share their story and hear how Laura adapted to her new remote environment and now shares words of caution, condolence, empathy, and advice with spouses of other would-be pioneers to America’s Last Frontier.

Bryan Emerson ’83, grew up in suburban Chicago with his sister, Meredith Emerson Ritchie ’86. They spent weekends and summers at their family log cabin and their 120 acre tree farm in Wisconsin, where Bryan learned to hunt, fish, cut firewood and other outdoor skills. After graduating from Hamilton with a major in Spanish (he spent his junior year in Madrid) he moved to Houston, Texas where he completed a MBA from Rice University and spent the next 30 years living and working throughout Latin America and India in telecommunications and investment banking. When their two boys left home, Bryan and Laura moved from Houston to their off-grid log cabin in Alaska, 45 miles from the nearest road.

Laura is from the San Francisco Bay Area, graduated from Duke University and received two Masters degrees from Washington University in St Louis. She spent much of her career as a securities licensed compliance and due diligence professional. She felt totally unprepared to move to bush Alaska but created a curriculum of skills to learn. After skepticism and tears, Laura adapted to her new remote environment and shares words of caution, condolence, empathy, and advice with spouses of other would-be pioneers to America’s Last Frontier who write her because of her blog, magazine articles, and interviews at https://alaskauu1.blogspot.com/

Cost to register for your first event is $10, which goes directly to funding and expanding the virtual programming series, while a portion is contributed to the Hamilton Fund to support teaching and learning on College Hill. 

Did you know you know you can become a Virtual Event Pass (VEP) holder? After you have paid the one-time $10 registration for the first event you attend, you can then register to attend all subsequent virtual events for free until June 30, 2023! Pay once. Attend unlimited. With the Virtual Event Pass you’re supporting Hamilton and staying connected to your Hamily. It’s a win-win!

Direct questions to hamily@hamilton.edu