Goettee, a fine arts major who concentrated in photography, initiated the trip after her December 2006 graduation in large part to strengthen her portfolio. Among her stolen possessions was the iPod she had used to store the 4,000 images from her trip. “I came home with no portfolio photos,” Goettee said. “It was very depressing.”

The year following her graduation included obstacles and opportunity. In August 2007, Goettee, 24 and originally of Atlanta, relocated to southern Maryland, where her boyfriend, Ben Wolter, works for a defense company in Lexington Park. On arrival, Goettee described herself as jobless, broke, still despondent over the loss of her images and in recovery from painful eye surgery. Then she got lucky.

After meeting Goettee, one of Wolter’s co-workers contacted a friend who worked in the photo lab of the nearby Naval Air Warfare Center at Patuxent River. The lab was hiring a photographer. Two interviews later, Goettee was chosen for a position she describes as “unlike any regular photography job.”

According to senior aerial photographer Randy Hepp, Goettee’s supervisor, the Patuxent center evaluates the Navy’s new aircraft, and (among other things) the lab photographers document those evaluations – from the air – with still and video cameras. To qualify for the position, Goettee underwent physical and psychological testing that included mock ejection from an aircraft and a blindfolded escape from a device meant to mimic an upside-down cockpit fully submerged in water.

Goettee described the latter experience as “kind of scary.”

The job is challenging and demanding and requires travel and a high degree of skill – a perfect fit for Goettee, an adventurer and risk-taker who spent a semester studying in Australia.

Hepp is pleased with Goettee, who finished her flight qualifications in early spring. “She’s working out great,” Hepp said. “I’m very pleased with her motivation and her skill.”