UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
can guide industry, government, and global organizations in making decisions to adapt to our changing climate. I hope to broaden our knowledge of glaciers and their interactions with different Earth systems, how it would influence our water resource budget, and natural hazard risks. I will join the intel- lectual force of adapting humanity to the changing climate by solving smaller science puzzles that can support the advance of more areas. Nature has shown me wonders and stimulated my curiosity. I hope our next generation can enjoy nature as I do, instead of fearing its demise.
I want to be a geologist also because I want to advocate for increasing diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in geosci- ences and the wilderness. Nature’s beauty is what got me into geoscience. I have a dream that everyone who hopes to explore the wilderness can have the confidence and opportunity to set foot in the field, no matter their gender, age, disability, level of outdoor experience, ethnicity, or income. As the Chair-Elect for the Geological Society of America (GSA)’s Student Advisory Council, as well as the student representative of the GSA Education and International Committee, I delivered multiple speeches last fall to students and educators from North and South America, Europe, and Asia. I believe encouragement and examples are most needed for underrepresented students to study Earth science, a scientific field that people in their communities are not familiar with. I used my story as an Asian woman in geoscience to inspire our next generation to pursue their passion with confidence. By attending leadership business meetings of the GSA education and international committee, I expressed the student body’s hope for a more diverse science community, as well as the more accessible future of science by remote education I saw from the global pandemic. I have rich experience in science communication: from being science communication picture editor for the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Science official social media for three years, to volunteering under NASA as a Lucy Asteroid Ambassador. I have spoken to the general public as a geoscience student, but in my future career as a geologist, I hope the diverse population living on the land could have their voice in geosciences. I want to be a geologist who fights for a more inclusive and accessible science community.
articles about the breadth of work geologists engaged in. I was fascinated with the thought of traipsing around the mountains looking at rocks, and getting paid to do it? Wow!
At this point I believed that I was going to enter the STEM field in geosciences, but still unsure if it was right for me. My math skills were weaker, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete college math courses with adequate grades needed for the geology BS. This is what I thought until I took my senior year pre-calc final. Having utilized a tutor the entire year, and doing extra homework, I was able to earn an A on final. I received my first in A in my last math class of high school. I was convinced that if I worked hard in the following years of school and remained disciplined with my math courses, I could pursue this degree in geosciences and this attitude was crucial to my success in the following years. I still had ques- tions about the overall experience as a geologist and realized I needed to have a conversation with an actual geologist.
In order to get a better perspective of what I would be doing I decided to have a conversation with someone at my church who was a Professional Geologist. JJ Brown explained to me that geology was an in-depth discipline that is sort of all encompassing. From chemistry, physics, and math, to critical thinking, interpretation, and problem solving. She gave me a piece of advice that I still refer back to: “Pick the thing that sounds the most fun to you and go from there”. I pondered over this and continued to go back and forth until I declared my major on graduation day. I had chosen the department of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming.
After one intro class in the fall of 2018, JJ asked me to work with her over winter break. My knowledge was limited, but those few weeks made me appreciate my choice of study even more. Working directly in the mineral exploration indus- try, even with limited experience gave me the foundation for the research and work I would do later. With her guidance, I was able to edit technical reports, read over data, and just generally obtain valuable skills as I moved forward. I was fortunate that my work experience translated well to my class work, and vise versa. I credit a lot of the practical knowledge I obtained as being learned from JJ. She has been a large part of my decision to stick with the program and ultimately with geology altogether.
Silas Goetz SA-10913
University of Wyoming Wyoming Section
“Geology students are the happiest on college campus” I read in a Forbes article sitting in my independent study course my final spring of high school. Until this point, I was convinced I would end up in the Agriculture industry having been in FFA and Ag classes all throughout high school. However, this article was the catalyst for the following months spent reading
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Over the past three years, I have worked for JJ intermit- tently, but every time I start a new project or new task, I learn more if I attempt to utilize problem solving, critical thinking, and now my new recent knowledge of geology and apply it to my work. Lastly, asking questions has been something I learned to do better. Asking questions enables me to do my job better and allows me to expand my knowledge which will help later on in my career. Moreover, having been in the program for five semesters and doing countless hours of research, fieldwork, core-logging, and lab work I realized that being a geologist encompasses all of the most interesting scientific aspects of the world in a way that will allow me to be a lifelong learner of the discipline. This is what I find most fascinating about geology (aside from the obvious new-found love for looking at rocks, minerals, core, etc.).
Geology students are the happiest on college campus” I read in a Forbes article sitting in my independent study course my final spring of high school.”
22 TPG •
Jul.Aug.Sep 2021
www.aipg.org
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