Why Choose Idaho?

By Katarina Hockema

I could tell the voice was targeting me. It singled me out from a sea of wandering eyes, unsure glances and excited yet nervous body language among the posters, booths, and recruiters at my high school in Homer, Alaska. Polite yet determined, it echoed throughout the gymnasium, eager to be heard over the clamor and chaos of dozens of high school juniors trying to figure out where their futures were taking them. “Excuse me,” the man called out, “would you be interested in learning more about our campus in Moscow?” I turned and locked eyes with a smartly-dressed gentleman, and after a short yet sweet pitch-turned-conversation, I accepted a pamphlet that would serve as the golden ticket to the next chapter of my life.

I grew up in a community of just a few thousand people, in the Cosmic Hamlet by the Sea—our affectionate nickname for Homer, the halibut fishing capital of the world. On the tip of a peninsula, Homer’s gray-sand beaches, crush-and-tumble Kachemak Bay waves, and Sitka spruce trees made up the building blocks of my childhood and adolescence, but I knew there was more to see. More to explore. More to discover beyond the quaint coastal hamlet I had called home for as long as I could remember.

What better way to set out on this journey, I thought, than by selecting a new town where I could get a degree? Several places caught my interest. There was the safety and familiarity of Anchorage, home to one of the University of Alaska campuses and a half day’s drive from Homer. Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, had inner city appeal. Southern Oregon University in Ashland was an eccentric hub for art and expression. The University of Montana in Missoula was close to several family members and boasted a nationally acclaimed journalism program, which was the field of study I decided to pursue. Then there was the University of Idaho, a gorgeous campus in the lively town of Moscow, nestled in the Panhandle of a state I’d never set foot in before.

Of all of the places I visited as candidates for my adventure, Moscow caught my attention the most, in more ways than one. I made the 2,675-mile jump there in 2019.  Whenever people ask, “Why Idaho?” I tell them, “I loved every school I toured more than the last, but I didn’t love University of Montana as much as I loved University of Idaho.”