The woods are a big part of who Ginger Polich is. She hails from Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.), the six-hour by three-hour stretch of land that is north of and separated from the main part of the state. The U.P. is about 80 percent natural forest and receives an average annual snowfall of about 300 inches. Polich's hometown of Ironwood is one of the biggest towns in the U.P. with just 5,000 people. Her parents own a small business where they sell jewelry and gifts, and Polich worked in the family store for many summers. But she spent much of her time in the outdoors. "You get attached to the woods and water-it just gets in you," Polich said. "Everyone wants to leave because there is not a lot going on. But when they go to the city, everyone misses the woods."

No matter where Polich goes, however, she always manages to find the woods. Whether it's running along the trails during an intense cross country workout, playing in the wilderness with her "little sister," or researching natural ways of healing, Polich is always connected with nature. This connection enables Polich to be a very down-to-earth person despite her incredible ability to touch and inspire everyone she meets.

A big sister

One of the people Polich has inspired is her nine-year old "little sister," Mikaela Hurd. During her first year, Polich decided to join the "Big Brothers Big Sisters" program. "I just wanted to do something good for the world," Polich recalled. "School is great, but it's all about you-it gets tiresome and maybe kind of selfish."

Being selfish is certainly not one of Polich's qualities, so she met with Hurd every week for three years. "This has been one of the biggest parts of being in college, something that I associate with college," Polich said.

The pair took on all sorts of outdoor adventures. "We went on a hike and looked at ferns," said Hurd. "We trapped mice in the woods and then released them."

While the relationship always had laughs and fun, it soon evolved beyond just that. "At first when she was a little kid we just had fun playing outside throwing mud at each other," said Polich. "At some point-I don't know if it was her getting older or me-our relationship became more than just fun. The way we would react to each other is the way I connect with my friends."

As a result, Polich has had very grown-up conversations with her nine-year-old "little sister." "We would get completely existential to the point that we would never know what we were talking about," said Polich. "We would talk about the end of the world and what it is like. I would bring academic information and she would bring random nine-year-old logic. We would have challenging debates."

Hurd also learned a lot from the ambitious Polich. "She writes her goals on her wall outside her room," noted Hurd. "She writes them every week, and they aren't just about her school work."

Polich has certainly been a great role model for Hurd, but she has also allowed herself to be influenced by her "little sister." "It teaches you so much about life and not just pretentious academic stuff," said Polich. "She's refreshing and real; she's curious for the sake of curiosity. And she's really cute."

Ever-evolving ideas

Although Polich may scoff at the occasional pretentiousness of academia, her education is a major part of who she is. "Ginger just loves to think, and loves to explore ideas until they are completely exhausted," said Mike Erkkinen '05. "Ideas are absolutely central to who she is-she has even said that her entire worldview changes every semester because of the classes she takes."

Because of her evolving worldview, Polich has changed her major several times. She was a chemistry major and then a biology major. But in her junior year Polich took an anthropology class and her major switched again. This time, she found her match. "All different disciplines have a different way of organizing and structuring the world," said Polich. "Anthropology struck me as maybe the way I was seeing the world, but I just didn't know it yet. Once I had the intellectual tools I could put my ideas into more coherent thoughts."

Polich put her coherent thoughts into an anthropology thesis. She looked at how scientists study non-Western medical systems, and what happens when they bring tai chi, acupuncture and shamanism into the lab. Specifically, she looked at how studying these non-Western practices can be professionally stigmatizing, and how the scientists cope with that. "It was an amazing thesis," said Polich's academic advisor, Professor of Anthropology Christopher Dole. "It's not what you typically think about as anthropology."

However, an atypical thesis topic is not surprising. Even though Polich may change her worldview when she encounters new ideas, she doesn't just let her previous thoughts go; they build on each other. This is how she arrived at her thesis topic. She began practicing karate when she was seven years old, and that led to her interest in different kinds of alternative medicine. The scientific aspect of her thesis came from her extensive studies in biology and chemistry. "She has a strong background in biology, and hasn't let go of that," said Dole. "She has maintained her grounding."

Always on the run

Another thing that Polich hasn't let go of is running. An all-American track and field athlete, Polich has devoted 12 seasons of running to Amherst. Prior to that, she ran track in middle and high school, committing 10 years to the sport. Running competitively is a difficult thing to do, and Polich has had her share of obstacles, including injuries, adjusting to college-level competition and steeple chase barriers. "Where I come from there aren't that many people, which makes it pretty easy to be good," said Polich. "At Amherst it's a whole other pool, and you have to adjust to not being in front anymore."

A part of adjusting in a new pool was trying new events. In high school, Polich used to do hurdles and run distance, so she thought the 3,000-meter steeple chase would be a good event for her. "When I put the two together, however, it was a pretty unfortunate combination," said Polich. "I caught my foot on the barrier and face-planted into the water pit. I was in water up to my neck, but I had to keep running."

For Polich, continuing to run was the only option, even though nearly anyone else would have given up after that experience. "She was absolutely miserable the last couple of laps and not to mention soaking wet," said Head Coach Erik Nedeau. "[But] in the time since, [she] has gone on to finish up her Amherst career as one of the top middle distance runners to have ever spiked up here. And to think, the way she looked after that steeple, I wondered if she would ever come back!"

Polich certainly came back, and she excelled in her specialty, the 800-meter run. She has been the go-to person in that event for several years because she can always be counted on to turn in a great race. Polich ran the 800 leg of the Distance Medley Relay when the Amherst women claimed second place at the Div. III National Championships in both 2004 and 2005. She was also a member of the school record-breaking 4x800-meter relay indoor and outdoor teams. "Probably the biggest of her strengths is her consistency," said Nedeau. "Whether it was an open race or a relay, you knew that she was going to give you all that she had and that was going to amount to another big race. That is not something that every runner possesses, and when they do, as a coach it is a great thing to be able to fall back on."

On April 22 this year, Polich broke the school record in the 800 at the Little Three Championships. There are several ways to look at her outstanding performance. First was the remarkable feat of coming back from an injury to give the best 800-meter effort ever at Amherst. "She was injured last spring and needed to take six months 'off' before she could go full speed again," said Erkkinen. "I guess Ginger's definition of 'off' is to spend several hours everyday in the gym or the pool, all summer and all fall, working out hard. Her hard work paid off as she set a record in her best event, the 800."

Another way of looking at Polich's great race is to think of track as just one thing in which Polich works very hard to succeed. "This season she gave an anthropology lecture at UMass the morning of Little Threes before rushing over to the meet [at Wesleyan University]," said teammate Shauneen Garrahan '07. "She barely had time to change into her uniform before she had to be out on the track for the 800. Not only was she able to quickly shift her focus into race mode and win the race, but she also broke the school record and provisionally qualified for nationals."

Yet Polich does not think about that breakthrough experience as just another step in her busy life. For her, that race was a personal breakthrough. Apart from the records and accolades, Polich was finally able to understand what it was exactly that makes her want to run. "Track has been really hard," she said "Racing is tough and I always get really nervous. I've spent 10 years trying to figure out how to get over it. A couple of meets ago I was being a little reflective and when I got to the starting line I realized that there was no point in trying to get over being nervous. I realized that there was something about being nervous and excited that makes me want to run. I had a great race."

But running is more than just these personal mental and physical victories for Polich. She is also an extraordinary teammate and captain. "Ginger is a very unselfish person, so she is exactly the kind of person you want for a teammate," said fellow runner Zandra Walton '09. "I learned a lot both directly and indirectly from her. She set an example. She never cuts corners."

It is evident that Polich leads by example. "On race day, and on the days that we work out she is always going to give 100 percent and, without ever saying it directly, she challenges those around her to do the same," said Nedeau.

At the same time, Polich makes sure she is having fun; especially with the track and field team. "Socially, the team is a zany group of people with a creative way of socializing," said Polich. For example, the team has bread eating contests to see which people or group of people can eat bread the fastest. They also have creative parties, such as the "Over the River and Through the Woods" themed event this winter. "Everyone dressed as fairy tale creatures and together we walked a mile to a party in the middle of the winter," Polich explained. "No one complained, you just trust that you'll get there. What other group on campus would walk a mile to a party?"

In addition to being an environment to have fun in, the group is integral to the runners' success. "Running is a unique individual sport where pushing yourself and your limits can be emotionally hard," said Polich. "The team is there for when you have an off race, season or year. Your teammates can really pick you up."

Her teammates provide the support and Polich sets the example for them to follow. Through this mutual relationship, the Amherst track and field and cross country programs have thrived. And in the process, Polich has shown she has drive to look beyond her limits. "Track is fun, kind of," she said. "It is a lot of work and it's really hard. It's been largely about self-respect. Every time it is tough, and every time I want to give up. I have to make the choice to go. And when I break through it is a powerful feeling. It's constantly making the choice to go for it-that's why I run. It's incredible, beautiful and something I'm so proud of."

"Phenomenal at life"

Polich has a lot of accomplishments to be proud of, but she should be proudest of the way she inspires other people. "Ginger does everything and she does it well," said Eric Glustrum '07. "Not only that, she has a really big heart and I think a lot of people look up to her for that."

"In the past, she's earned a black belt in karate, competitively snowshoe raced, figure skated, graduated as her high school valedictorian, even dated the captain of the football team," added Walton. "Ginger's just phenomenal at life."

Polich has been a role model for her "little sister," her teammates and her friends. "Despite her numerous commitments, she always has time to listen to her friends," added her roommate Hae Jin Kim '06. "Don't count on responses through e-mail or AIM because she likes the face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversations rather than this off-the-cuff messaging business. I've gained so much from her friendship and she is a friend I am constantly inspired and motivated by and always learning from."

Although it might be hard to model Polich, it is definitely worth a try. "Despite her talents and hard-earned success, Ginger remains as down-to-earth, humble and gracious as anyone I've ever met," said Errkinen. "She just 'gets it,' I think. I don't even know what 'getting it' is, but I think Ginger is pretty close. If you were to ask her, though, she'd probably say she's clueless. I guess that may be part of 'getting it'-it's at least part of her magnetic charm. Her remarkable story is right under her nose, but she is far too focused on living to stop and pat herself on the back."