“WHY I WANT TO BE A GEOLOGIST.”


while I was helping my father build our house. When looking back, I think these initial experiences sowed the seed of my geologist dream.


The bucolic landscape near my hometown began to change dramatically around the year 2000. Though there may be the natural climate fluctuation, human activities played a key role in changing the local environment. Local industrial development had taken off as the economy soared at the rate of more than 10% each year. Then followed the costs of this fast development. I witnessed almost synchronized phenom- ena of tree cutting, water table dropping, river drying and sand storming. One event influenced my career path the most: the levee along the river surrounding my village, which had been a woodland of diverse trees for decades and a paradise for birds, insects, and the village children, was clear-cut for growing one single variety of timber tree when I was in high school. I still remember how sad I was for losing this “garden of biodiversity”. Since then, I’ve barely heard the birds singing there in the summer and hardly seen any praying mantises laying eggs in the fall. This incident forced me to think over a question: “why did this happen and what could I do to stop these ecological tragedies?” I thought the fundamental causes for environmental deterioration were people’s lack of scientific knowledge of the nature and subsequent shortsightedness in utilizing natural resources. It was at that time that I heard the first call to be a geoscientist. I decided to start with a bachelor’s degree in geology.


However, the way to my dream of becoming a scientist has never been straight and I had to compromise sometimes. I failed to score high enough in the “once for all” College Entrance Exam and my score was just below what was required for a bachelor’s degree in any natural sciences. To move on, and considering the financial difficulties of my family, I chose an associate degree program in marine navigation technol- ogy, knowing I could at least gain some experiences of the oceans and travel globally while earning a living. During the three years in Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners College, I expanded my enthusiasm from terrestrial to oceanic regime and demonstrated excellent academic capabilities. I success- fully paid most of my college expenses with scholarships. Additionally, I took leadership in mentoring students with


academic difficulties. After graduating with honors in 2009, I became a 3rd mate on board a vessel serving the off-shore oil and gas platforms. We worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with crews from very different countries. This reward- ing seaman experience taught me the value of cooperation, self-discipline, hard-work, attention to details, as well as the beauty of marvelous oceans. It was then that I saw the most fantastic scenes: a night sky full of stars, from the top of my head down to the sea horizon in every direction; a shoal of Bluefin tuna happily hunting the flying fish under the deck lights of our vessel.


While I was doing very well as 3rd mate onboard, I knew my true passion was still to study the sciences behind the natural phenomena. How much will the sea level rise in next decade? How much warmer the Earth could be if we maintain carbon dioxide of 400ppm? I decided to follow my initial dream to be a geoscientist, despite the good salary and a promise of a captaincy in another five years. Unfortunately, there were no Earth Science-related bachelor’s programs available in China for an adult like me. I did not give up. I worked as the office manager in an Italian environmental technology company in Beijing while I was preparing to study abroad. After two years of administration work, I eventually saved enough money to study my desired major in Kent State University.


I have been deeply cherishing the second chance of educa- tion and particularly enjoying all the courses in geophysical sciences. I took an average of 17 credit hours per semester and scheduled my graduation in 5 semesters, balancing the necessary preparation for graduate school and the expenses that I can afford with personal savings (I am not able to take a loan for this education). In spite of financial stress, I’ve been taking more than required courses in mathematics and chemistry. I would have taken more courses in physics, biology, mathematics and chemistry, if I could afford more semesters, as I knew well their importance in my future research. I have special strengths in applying physical sciences to describe and understand the natural phenomena. Now after the years of my winding journey, I am ready for my Ph.D. study in the field of paleoclimate from this fall and getting much closer to my dream to be a geologist.


Ellie Ellis, SA-8110, Pomona College


My Environmental Perspective: A Sea of Green


From my place atop the precipice, I look down on a sea of green. The waves crash as the leaves undulate in the wind, exciting the city into the


grandest pirouettes and leaps. The murmur and commotion below the waves is barely audible from my position in the sky. Rejuvenated by the recent precipitation, the valley takes a deep breath, relaxing into its graceful dance. I am void of all influ- ence, except for the smell of moist dirt from last night’s storm flooding my nostrils.


Even though the disquieted bustle of the city is not visible from my perspective, the production that lies below does not cease. We are embarrassed by the irreversible changes we have


made to the landscape, so we veil it with trees and weave flow- ers into our hair.


There, all better.


Aside from me and a few others who have removed them- selves for the moment, the population continues their search for a sense of place. A connection to others, an association with a greater purpose, a sense of place in the land we call home.


But very few succeed.


The human mind is but a machine, bred to produce, devel- oped to discover and conquer. We have distorted our desires past the point of conception, leaving the prospect of preserva- tion a mere fantasy. The connection to the natural world that humans are supposed to have has been whittled away by our insatiable desire for progress and innovation. The blood of the souls who roamed this Earth before us runs cold as we look back at what could have been.


24 TPG • Jul.Aug.Sep 2017 www.aipg.org


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