College of Arts & Sciences graduate student Melissa Jamrock goes through life collecting experiences. Her next endeavor will lead her somewhere most people won't go in their lifetime: Antarctica.

Whenever someone asks her why she would ever want to go there, her response is simple: Why not?

"How many times is someone going to ask you to go to Antarctica?" Jamrock asked. "Most people in the world will never go there. I'm going to be able to hit all seven continents before I'm 30. How many people can say that?"

Jamrock said traveling is a way to experience different things in the world. As long as she can share the experience with people, it will be worth it.

"For me it's not to be … better than someone. It's about sharing what I do," she said. "I can share my pictures and stories. No one else I know will be going there."

"I think that going to Antarctica is something that fits with Melissa's personality so well — it's something that everyone secretly wants to do and Melissa's actually going to do it," said Theresa Saucier, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The trip, hosted by People to People Ambassador Programs, an organization that allows professionals to meet with people in similar professions overseas, has been dubbed "March of the Jamrock" as a play on the documentary "March of the Penguins."

"(Jamrock) told me about the trip right when she heard about it and she thought it sounded really interesting and exciting," said Carolyn Strash, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

If she had been able to, Strash said she would have wanted to go along because she loves traveling to other countries.

The trip, which will take place in December, has Jamrock flying down to Miami where she'll meet up with the rest of her group. From there, they will all fly down to Ushuaia, Argentina. After a short stay in Ushuaia, the group will get on a boat and head to Antarctica.

Jamrock said she has no problem with being seasick, so it should be an OK trip; however, coming from the Milwaukee winter, most people would think she's heading to a harsher climate.

Jamrock said she is not worried.

"It'll be in the 40s and 50s because it'll be summer there," she said.

Don't think Jamrock only wants to experience things outside the United States or outside Milwaukee.

She started her undergraduate degree at Marquette in 1999 for broadcasting and electronic communication and Spanish. Now she's working on a master's degree in political science. She said she's had a "fantastic Marquette career," which has included going to the Final Four with the men's basketball team and marching band.

Currently, she's a building supervisor at the Rec Center, where she's been working since her freshman year, and she's also interning for the "Doyle for Wisconsin Governor Reelection" campaign.

She is thankful for all she's done, even though it can be a bit mind-boggling.

"In my life, I've been lucky to have been able to take and experience all those cultures, travel and form bonds," Jamrock said. "I've been able to do a lot and grow and have once in a lifetime experiences."

The next thing on her list involves getting a Ph.D, but where she plans to get it might seem a little out there as well.

"I plan to get my Ph.D. in Australia," she said. "It's 80 percent sure. It's a huge change to pick up. But if I don't do it now, I won't have another opportunity. I've always lived in the Midwest. It's good to move away from family and friends to immerse myself in a different culture and encourage my research."

Jamrock, already with a laundry list of experiences, will have plenty more to share in a year or two.