UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS


Cecily Combs, SA-9526 Northern Arizona University - Arizona Section


Growing up, I always loved the out- doors. I spent hours playing outside and geocaching with the yellow GPS my mom gave to my brother and I for Christmas. I distinctly remember afternoon bike rides in the Arizona summer heat to the hospital bushes, roadside lots, and even housing developments abandoned after


the housing crash.


As I got older, I began camping with my family and my Girl Scout troop. I loved going to summer camp in the mountains and being surrounded by the sounds of nature. As a teenager, I became very involved in hiking the mountains that surrounded the basin I called home, and I became ever more concerned about natural resources, and how our society was pushing into the undeveloped desert I had played in as a child. It scared me to realize how much I did not know about the world I lived in. As a 17 year-old being asked to make decisions about my life, and what I wanted to contribute, I knew in my gut that whatever I really wanted, I would find at university


After applying and being accepted to Northern Arizona University, I settled into my life as a newly declared double BA in French Language and Comparative Cultural Studies. It only took a few weeks for me to realize that this was not the correct fit however. I disliked the rigid system of right and wrong, I felt anxious about the lack of job prospects, and I really didn’t feel like I was truly contributing anything the way I had imagined as a kid. Something was off, but I couldn’t identify it.


As I started exploring other possibilities for majors, I stumbled upon a course titled “Geologic Disasters.” As the Geology science class for non-majors, the course focused on the forces behind massively destructive events and their impacts on humans. The course was relatively intensive, and covered a variety of topics including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, as well as floods and rockfalls. It even tied in local events and problems on the Colorado Plateau as well as flooding caused by intervention with the Rio de Flag river channel in Flagstaff. I thought the class was a blast, and I loved learning about the political and social implications of every topic we covered. I realized that I was the only one of my classmates who truly enjoyed these studies, and after realizing I was drawn to the field, I decided to start taking major courses.


After starting down the major path, I instantly felt at home in my new coursework. It was challenging, and everything was subject to question. You couldn’t see any of the processes that were being talked about, and thus they all had to be inferred


AIPG’s Mentor Program


www.aipg.org


from clues we found on the surface. I felt like I was learning how to work backwards to solve a mystery, and I absolutely loved it.


I enjoyed the field trips to new places and the untouched views, and the more I learned and became involved, the more I realized how broad and varied studies in geology were. I was enamored with the possibilities.


I became involved in a hydrogeology research group while looking for research opportunities, and that was the final miss- ing piece in the puzzle. I really felt complete there. I feel so much passion for water, identifying where it is below ground, how it flows, and maintaining its balance with human use. I find the chemistry and variability fascinating, and after learning about CERCLA and superfund sites, I’ve become drawn to the idea of reclamation helping improve the lives of people. I want to go to graduate school to study groundwater and cleanup processes. I am also interested in the policy that governs its uses and regulation. And while I don’t know exactly where I want to work, I think I would be very happy work- ing with the USGS, or a city, or even with an environmental engineering firm specializing in clean up.


I want to be a geologist because it combines my life’s pas- sions. I feel this is the natural fit for me, and I feel that I can and want to contribute to it. We can all agree that issues like overallocation of the Colorado river will eventually come to a head, and action will be needed. Governing surface and ground water separately ignores the interconnectedness of the system


“


I became involved in a hydrogeology research group while looking for research opportunities, and that was the final missing piece in the puzzle. I really felt complete there.


and makes little sense long-term. Water and science should be available for everyone in society to understand and access, and I believe that this is important. I have many goals for myself and society, and I want to be a geologist because if I can make a difference, even just a little one, then it will all be worth it.


About the Essayist


Cecily Combs is a fifth year senior who recently graduated with a B.S. in Geology from Northern Arizona University. From Gilbert Arizona, she became interested in hydrogeology after taking a geotechnical engineering class. Cecily aspires to achieve professional licensure as a geologist and possibly attend a graduate program in the coming years.


AIPG offers a mentor program for aspiring geologists in the many different disciplines. Do you have questions about what career opportunities are available? How about what sectors are hiring? What is it like to work in a specific field? Do you need help with your resume and insight on interviewing? There are many things that you can learn from a member as well as possibly establishing a lifelong friendship. Be sure to sign up www.aipg.org/mentorsprogram.


Jul.Aug.Sep 2020 • TPG 11


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