It is an incredible honor to receive the Asahiko Taira Prize. I would like to express my deepest thanks to Gail Christeson for her generous citation and to AGU, the Japan Geoscience Union and International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) for establishing the Taira Prize to recognize research accomplishments enabled by scientific ocean drilling. I am grateful to Mike Bickle, who sparked my interest in ocean crust and encouraged me to study for a Ph.D. in Southampton with Damon Teagle, setting me on my ocean drilling journey. Damon immediately encouraged me to apply to join Ocean Drilling Program Leg 206, drilling superfast-spread crust at Site 1256. I cannot thank Damon enough for his unwavering support over the years, but especially for instilling in me the belief that I could make significant contributions to ocean drilling from the earliest days of my Ph.D. On board, I loved being immersed in a research environment. The co-chief scientists (Doug Wilson and Damon) and Gary Acton championed the early-career scientists, and the mentoring from Jeff Alt and Christine Laverne was invaluable, leading to lifelong friendships. Returning to sea on IODP Expedition 301 (Juan de Fuca Ridge) and Expedition 312 (deepening 1256D), I again learned a great deal from my shipmates, including Andy Fisher, Keir Becker, Geoff Wheat and Adam Klaus. The culmination of all these experiences was a proposal to drill a multidisciplinary South Atlantic Transect (Expedition 390/393). Thank you to all who have contributed to this project, particularly my fellow co-chief scientists (Gail, Damon and Jason Sylvan), Emily Estes and Trevor Williams and the JOIDES Resolution Science Operator for their tremendous engineering efforts (Expedition 390C/395E) to ensure the success of the COVID-delayed coring. Developing the 2050 Science Framework is one of the most rewarding things I will ever do. The eagerness of the international community to continue to collaborate and develop a framework that will stimulate novel, ambitious and transformative drilling projects was inspirational. The framework was written by the community for the community, and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed, especially Anthony Koppers for his leadership, vision, enthusiasm and support throughout the process. Scientific ocean drilling has allowed me to be an explorer — reaching otherwise impossible places (in situ gabbro in Hole 1256D!). It is a pleasure to be part of such an open, supportive community that actively encourages junior scientists to take leading roles. Thank you to my family — Simon, Lyra and Cassie — for supporting me on these amazing adventures.