HUMAN
Name: Jennifer Campbell-Smith
Age: 36
Residence: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: I am currently a high school science teacher.
Years involved with the Iditarod: This will be my fourth year, but sixth year since I started.
Iditarod Role: Communications
Current Location: Nome, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 16, 2022
Temperature: 6F Outdoors/68F Indoors at Iditarod Headquarters
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I first became involved with the Iditarod when a friend of mine finally convinced me for the third time to try to come out. I had wanted to, it’s a lot of gear and it’s a lot to do. But I finally made it happen. That was in 2017, doing communications. I had no idea what’s going on. I still have no idea what’s going on because it’s the nature of the Iditarod. But I love it.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because I love this. I love adventure. I love dogs. I’m 1000% here for the dogs. Sorry, mushers. But I came my first year. I dealt with extremely cold temperatures in Nenana, negative 40. I was out there for two hours by myself, no sleep. I was super sick. And I loved it. I love getting to meet the people here, both the people involved with the Iditarod, and I really love getting to interact with villagers. Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time literally blew my mind. I couldn’t believe it. And being around the dogs and in the Arctic, I love it here. My soul loves it here.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.
One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was standing on the river outside of Nenana, where they have the tripod set up for the lottery when it’s first going to fall in the river in the spring. And I was freezing cold. It was negative 40 degrees. And so I started writing Nome in the snow, just so I could warm up. So I was writing this giant, like 20 foot letters, Nome in the snow. And I look up and I think to myself, man, what city would be glowing in the distance? There are no cities near here. Fairbanks is the closest, but I wouldn’t expect to see it this far. And then it got greener and brighter and lighter. And suddenly, the sky was just a melting of colors, and I was gobsmacked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was like, this is the Northern Lights. And I get it. I get why people travel so far. I get why people photograph it over and over. And I get why it’s so spiritually important to people up here. It was one of the most spectacular things I’ve seen in my life, and I think everybody should see it with their own eyes.
What in life do you know for sure?
What I know for sure in life is that nothing is for sure. And I think the Iditarod just reflects that. We can plan all we want, and things are not going to go according to our plans. And you have to be flexible, and that’s life. That’s something I try to teach my students and let them know is that best you can do is be prepared for a bunch of different scenarios and just kind of go with it, and you’ll have a blast if you do.