STUDENT’S VOICE GSA Annual Conference Experience
Franklin Wolfe, SA-4334
wolfef16@mail.wlu.edu
This year’s GSA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland had a totally different feel to me than last year. No longer was I awe-struck by the sheer number of geologists in attendance and the overwhelming number of things to do. Instead, I was calm, cool, collected, and prepared to make the most of my time at the conference. Equipped with the GSA conference guidebook, I planned my time strategically so that I could learn, network, and enjoy the conference.
My friend Andrew Clements, SA-7147, (Washington and Lee University ’16) and I arrived in Baltimore two days before the start of the conference to participate in a short-course titled, “Sequence Stratigraphy for Graduate Students.” This course provided us a unique opportunity to build on the stratigraphic concepts that we had been learning in our Sedimentation and Stratigraphy course and to gain insight into the type of work that we want to conduct in our respective careers. This course was extremely neat because we got the opportunity to look at new types of data that we have little exposure to, such as well cores, seismic surveys, and well logs. We also got to interact with three highly experienced geologists – one each from Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Anadarko – all who have over 30 years of experience in the industry and were able to provide great insight for interpreting geologic data.
During the conference, I stayed busy attending lectures, posters, and graduate school and industry booths. Some highlights of my time were spent attending the AGI Student Networking Luncheon and volunteering at the AIPG booth. At the luncheon, I learned about internships opportunities for summer 2016 and while working at the AIPG booth, I helped many new young geologists sign-up to become members of AIPG. It was exciting to meet so many new people, all with different interests and aspirations in geology. Lastly, GSA was a great opportunity for me to reach out to professors who I would be thrilled to work with next year as I pursue a graduate degree.
All in all, GSA 2015 was a great experience and I feel as though I took full advantage of the opportunity provided to me by the Washington and Lee Department of Geology and the generous alumni, whose contributions helped make my attendance possible. I recommend that all undergraduate geology students should attend a major geologic conference to expose them to the wide-ranging opportunities and fields within geology. If you arrive prepared, it is an unparalleled way to grow as a geologist in a very short period of time.
Reuniting with my friends who I met while participating in the GSA/ExxonMobil Bighorn Basin Field Seminar in August. Left to right: Lauren Bane (Wisconsin Oshkosh), Franklin Wolfe, SA-4334,(Washington and Lee), Cheyne Aiken (Vermont), David McLennan, SA-5353, (Indiana State), Erin Conlon (Florida).
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