ON THE ROAD:  MARIE BOYKO HEADS FOR NEW HORIZONS

"Basically, I intend to redefine my life by doing a lot of exploring."  
That's how Marie Boyko is looking at the future right now.  Marie's 
position as manager of the Information and Education Outreach 
Program was eliminated earlier this year as part of a reorganization 
putting some group members within UCAR Corporate Affairs and 
keeping others within NCAR.  For Marie, the layoff has opened the 
door to new opportunities and directions.

It was serendipity that brought Marie to NCAR in the first place.  
Brought up in Boston, Marie earned her bachelor's degree in history at 
Cornell University.  Not long afterward, in 1972, she headed for 
graduate school at the University of Colorado (CU).  "I came specifically 
to see the West, because I had the impression it was more open-
minded than the East.  The master's program was really an excuse for 
me to find out."  And, she adds, "Like any good Bostonian, I had the 
intention to return to civilization once I'd done my exploring."

When tight funding at the CU Department of Classics depleted the 
fund for supporting master's students, Marie found herself job-
hunting in Boulder.  She'd gained experience on the IBM MT/ST--
"their first, clunky word processor"--while working in Boston.  
NCAR's publishing group had an opening for an MT/ST operator in 
May 1973, and Marie filled the bill.  "Essentially, I took the first job I 
was offered.  A lot of things fell neatly into place after that"--including 
the fact that the group was then located in the Colorado Building on 
14th Street and Walnut Street.  Marie had no car at the time.  "If the job 
had been on the mesa, there's no way I'd have been able to accept it."

Within a year, Marie had become a copyeditor for the group, and by 
1979 she had worked her way to manager.  In 1987, an administrative 
restructuring placed Marie and the group together with the fledgling 
Education and Tour Program and the former Information Office.  The 
broadening of NCAR's external publications program toward a more 
comprehensive outreach and lay science education effort had begun.

"I really welcomed the change of direction," recalls Marie, "because it's 
one I thought we'd needed for a long time.  That opening-up process 
was the most exciting thing for me."  Marie and her staff's outreach 
efforts grew to encompass a bona fide exhibits program, increased 
educational efforts (in tandem with other UCAR staff), and the 
placement of periodicals and reference material on the Internet.

Although Marie's 21 years on the NCAR staff concluded on 27 May, 
she'll be at the Foothills Lab this summer, teaching the writing course 
for undergraduates in the Summer Employment Program:  "I enjoyed 
teaching this class in its first three years in the mid-1980s, and I'm 
delighted to be doing it again."  At the same time, she plans to finish 
her master's degree in nonprofit management at Regis University.

The future?  Marie's love of learning and of young people may lead 
her toward teaching, she says.  Her eyes are definitely on the road 
ahead.  "I have a lot to explore, a lot of options.  I'm excited and curious 
to see how it turns out."  --BH