UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Jennifer Davis, SA-4207 Miami University, Ohio – Ohio Section
When I flew to South Korea to visit a friend during my freshman year of college, I imagined spending time in sprawling, modern cities and busy streets. But her parents surprised me and took us on a trip to Jeju, a volcanic island in the Korea Strait. I was captivated by the jagged black rocks and columnar jointing scat-
tered around the island, the products of thousands of years of lava flows and hardening processes I was only beginning to understand. I found the structures formed by the cooling lava wondrous, and I was eager to learn more about all of them. While my friend slept that night, I stayed up until 3 a.m. reading as much as I could about the volcanic systems that shaped the island’s stunning natural beauty.
The rocks that enthralled me during my trip to Jeju inspired me to enroll in my first geology class the following semester, my first term at Miami University after transferring from the University of Massachusetts. The classes I took over the next three years, from Ice Age Earth to Field Camp to Isotope Geochemistry, unlocked the passion I had for understanding the Earth and motivated me to change my major and pursue a career in the field of geology.
As I have progressed through college, I have gone out of my way to obtain more knowledge in the geological sciences. I approached my studies the same way as when I stayed up late into the night during my trip to Jeju: I could not stop investigating topics associated with geology. I made it my
Monike Distefano, SA-10004 Metropolitan State University of Denver - Colorado Section
When I was very young, both my parents and my brother died due to very unfortunate circumstances. Because I needed to support myself financially, I started working when I was 14 years old. Having to work a full-time job did not leave me much time off. When I was younger, I did not have the opportunity
of proper schooling like a normal child should. However, I managed to finish high school a few years later. It was one of those things I knew I had to do if I wanted to improve myself and make a better living. I would treasure every moment I was able to spend at a library reading science books and teaching myself how to do math. Because I was always so eager to learn new things, I became a remarkable observer and a vigorous inquisitive individual. That’s how education became one of the most important things in my life.
I come from Paraguay, a small, landlocked country in South America. In Paraguay, there are several mountain ranges but most of the region lies below 300 meters (984 Ft) in elevation. It is rich in natural resources and has one of the most amaz- ing hydroelectric dams one could ever see. Because there are few geologists in the country and only one school that offers Geological Sciences as a major program, not many people are exposed to geology, and it is therefore not a common option for Paraguayan students. When I was finally ready to attend
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mission to expose myself to learn as deeply as I could about as many geological fields as possible during my time as an undergraduate at Miami University. I wanted to make sure I could find exactly what geoscience I was most passionate about and pursue that love. I took on research in paleontology and petrology, and I spent hours in my professors’ offices learning more about petrology, mineralogy, and tectonics.
Through these experiences, I have found common themes among the diverse fields that fall under the realm of the geo- sciences. There is a plethora of information locked inside each rock, giving detailed information about its entire past up until the moment it is collected. As geologists, we seek to unlock this information in order to piece together more of the puzzle that is Earth history. Each field, from geophysics to paleontology to volcanology and beyond, offers the opportunity to understand previously unexplained phenomena up to and including the formation of our planet itself.
As a geologist, I hope to be able to help unlock some of the previously unknown information in the rocks. Throughout my career, I will continue to uncover secrets about the processes occurring within our planet. I will constantly have the chance to answer new questions, conduct new research, and contribute to newly published papers that piece together Earth’s history. I will always be able to feel the wonder that I felt when reading and learning about Jeju.
About the Essayist
Jenn Davis is from Cincinnati, Ohio and is graduating this year in 2020 from Miami University of Ohio. Her interests are focused on geochemistry, petrology, and planetary geology. She will be attending graduate school at the University of Colorado, Boulder after graduation.
school, I opted for Economics. Due to having good grades, most of my tuition was covered by the school and in my senior year I was in line for graduating first in my class. My future looked promising and to some extent, I was satisfied with the choices I had made. In my senior year in Economics school, I came across an opportunity to come to the United States to study English for one year. I had always wanted to learn English and I thought that one year away from home would not make that much impact in my life. I could always come back to finish school after a year and go back to normal. After all, if opportunity comes to you, the least you can do is take it. So, I took the chance without knowing that it would forever change my life.
Then one beautiful day I saw the Rocky Mountains and I could have never imagined the sheer beauty and wonder they hold. The first time I was at Rocky Mountain National Park, I fell deeply in love with its landscapes and became very curi- ous about what processes allowed for such magnificent views to develop. What created the shape of those mountains? How were the valleys so perfectly carved? How come there were rocks of so many different colors? What were these rocks made of and how old were they? I had so many questions I had never asked myself before because I was experiencing something I had never seen before: geology at its finest.
In 2017, I decided I wanted to become a Geologist. I was admitted at the Metropolitan State University of Denver for the Applied Geology program. My first Earth science class was Physical Geology. In that class, I was introduced to tectonic plates, geological hazards, volcanoes and the different types
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