Needed break laid important groundwork

On Tara Riemer’s 100-day sabbatical in late 2019, she learned lessons both large and small — including that she needs “precisely” 8.5 hours of sleep a night.

In addition, the president and CEO of Seward’s Alaska SeaLife Center discovered she has definite opinions on which books translate well to audio, since she read or listened to 34 during those three months.

Importantly, Riemer also realized that her staff was able to handle challenging situations well and, in fact, managed even better when given more responsibility. That learning and others were vital as Riemer led her workplace through months of pandemic challenges shortly after her sabbatical ended in early 2020.

Riemer said her sabbatical was the first time in 17 years she felt totally able to relax. In fact, once she disconnected, she found she wasn’t even curious about what was happening back home.

First, she set out on two planned hikes along the Appalachian Trail. When an opportunity to hike in Bryce and Zion National Parks appeared, she eagerly accepted that too, accomplishing her goal to do something completely spontaneous on her sabbatical. Then she headed for Dallas where she walked 60 miles over three days to raise money for breast cancer research.

Next, Riemer and a friend headed to Barcelona, via Seattle and Paris, to enjoy a 21-night trans-Atlantic cruise. After visiting Maui with another friend, she traveled to Texas for three weeks of walking on the beach, geocaching and completing jigsaw puzzles with her parents and other family members.

Upon her return in January 2020, Riemer settled back into work. Less than two months later, she was confronted with the pandemic and the need to temporarily close the Center. The Center not only weathered the challenges, it emerged even healthier financially and operationally. She believes her time away helped with that.

“Coming back rested prior to the COVID pandemic allowed me to approach this even greater challenge with the ability to see a way through and lead our team through a crisis,” Riemer said.