NETWORKING
A word on networking with AIPG
Anton A. Smirnov SA-11492
In my estimation, the greatest strength of AIPG student member- ship has always been the incredible networking opportunities which come part-and-parcel with participation in our venerable organiza- tion. Our field, so fundamentally relevant to the modern world, is not often a topic of conversation with our non-geological peers, and one can only learn so much from arduous study of samples in a classroom. Even a graduated student is in many ways a blank slate– we have yet to fully apply the knowledge we have worked so hard to memorize in Petrology and Depositional Systems, or to appreciate the full breadth of world geology that was hinted at in our Field courses. Learning from one’s predecessors is, then, a necessity.
“Once you’re finished in the classroom, you’re halfway there,” an older geologist once told me at an AIPG mixer, glass of cham- pagne in hand, “But probably less than halfway.” As I look forward to beginning my career in geology, I have come to understand that she could not have been more correct. With each new topic I encounter and each professional I ask about their work, I become increasingly aware that the business we have chosen is myriad, exciting, and often dauntingly challenging. One can never cease to learn new things, new methods, new ways of working and think- ing. Fortunately, no student, or at the very least no student with AIPG membership, will find themselves facing this challenge alone. I have found that the wonderful stories, lessons and experiences of those who have walked this path before us are all available to us– we need but to ask.
My most recent encounter with this phenomenon occurred in the heady atmosphere of Phoenix in February, during the MINEXCHANGE conference organized by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. It was easy to get lost among the innumer- able booths lining the cavernous interior of the conference center. Everywhere I looked, professionals from widely differing fields were discussing the products, methods, and partnerships that keep the
Lunch & Cost:
Members - $15 Non-Members - $30
AIPG Student Members - free Earn 0.1 CEU / 1 PDH for attending! Certificates will be emailed after the webinar.
AIPG is an NYSED approved provider of continuing education credits for New York licensed professional geologists.
50 TPG •
Jul.Aug.Sep 2024
world of mining moving steadily along. But the conference floor was not entirely bereft of a familiar face, despite the distance we had traveled to get there. No visit to a geological event, after all, is complete without a visit to the AIPG booth, and we were for- tunate to find Dawn Garcia (former AIPG National President) at a Stantec booth nearby. We had met Dawn at the 2023 AIPG National Conference in Kentucky in September and remembered with some delight the competitive game of Geological Trivia we had played in the Bluegrass State as part of that event.
Bright and early the next morning, at Dawn’s invitation, we made
our way to an AIPG brunch attended by the wide assortment of geologists one can expect at a function of this sort. The fact that we were students inspired great volumes of advice from each person we spoke to, and indeed the long distance we had traveled to be there must have seemed somewhat of a novelty. We met James Adu, the President of the Arizona Section of AIPG, as well as many AIPG members from the local area, who all made us feel exceed- ingly welcome and at home. It is a testament to the truly national reach of the American Institute of Professional Geologists that one can travel halfway across the country and still be among one’s own.
I had gone into the brunch entirely overwhelmed by the sheer
volume of the conference, feeling out-of-place and perhaps a little discouraged; I left knowing that I was in the right place. After all, as the years of experience had taught those who advised me that day, a willingness to learn and adapt will always carry you through. I am beginning an internship this summer thanks in part to the advice I was given in that little restaurant in Phoenix, and I find myself look- ing forward to the next National Conference in Durango, Colorado, more and more. This time, perhaps, I will be able to contribute some of my own experience and give back at least a little to the wider AIPG community.
Scan QR code to learn more.
Geoscience webinars with continuing education credits for professionals hosted by AIPG.
www.aipg.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
