UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
sciences and further educate myself and others on the role we play in diversifying the geology profession.
As a practitioner in the field after graduation, I want to work towards establishing sustainable tourism and educa- tional opportunities portraying our relationship with our environment to better inform the public. Public lands, such as National Parks, are the most accessible destinations for education and give a perspective to our connections with our surrounding environment. A commitment to their protection and restoration will allow their ecological services to provide lifetimes of curiosity and awareness. Though, through this process acknowledge must be given to the rightful stewards of these stolen lands and Indigenous rights must be advo- cated for. The relationship between humans and the land we live upon is extremely influential to how we navigate living sustainable lifestyles as a society. I hope to inspire others by allowing them to inquire about how we can make the most of our resources in our lifetime on the earth.
Breauna Murray SA-9764
Wayne State University Michigan Section
When I was a kid, I collected rocks and sorted them into piles by color and size. Later, I received a rock tumbler for Christmas; immediately I grabbed one of the piles and started the process of tumbling. Over the next six days, my parents started the process of losing their minds, for the tumbler - no matter where it was located within the house - was excru- ciatingly loud. While that may have been the only time I got to use it, it was one of my favorite Christmas gifts and I showed everyone the rocks that I tumbled. It was then that nature became a huge part of my life, and there are a couple of experiences that stood out that as I discovered I wanted to be a geologist.
Science was my favorite subject when I started school. For I have always been curious about the innerworkings of the world around me. As a young chatty kid who questioned everything in fifth grade, this was sometimes an issue, and causing my curiosity to not always be encouraged. While my spark was dimmed due to the lack of encouragement, it was brightened again during an A.P. biology trip my junior year of high school. Escaping to a small camp up north, we sat in the dirt discussing plant species, rock types, soil chem- istry, local animal species and so much more. While these discussions were at a high school level, it created a passion within me. This pas- sion and curios- ity directed me to the path of environmental science.
dimmed due to the lack of encourag brightened again during an trip my junior year of Escaping to a sm north, we sat discussing p rock types istry, lo species more. discu at a leve a pa me sion ity to env scien
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The next experiences contribute to my distinction within what field I was studying. I originally came to Wayne State University with the intent to study environmental science; however, during scheduling I was given a choice between introductory geology and biology, and I choose geology. I am generally not a morning person; I don’t think I missed more than one lecture even though they were at eight am. This excitement I felt was only intensified by my professor, through his lectures, his passion for his work and over all geology was contagious. After this class, I switched my major to geology. This last experience is more of a feeling to be described, than necessarily a specific event. After a year in geology, I applied for a research class. To this day it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. This class introduced me to how the research community works, and allowed my curiosity to roam free. This is also where I received the confidence through encouragement to voice my questions. For I have an amazing professor who has let me study and participate in her research.
These experiences are the reason for why I want to be a geologist. I have found my love for the world around me again and geology has sparked my imagination of questioning every- thing in it. The community I have found has encouraged my love to learning. This encouragement is why I intend to pursue graduate school after my undergraduate degree is finished. But there is something that I believe is more important than these experiences have taught me. I want to become a geologist to pursue my passions within the field, but that I want to spark those passions within others. I am thankful for all my amazing teachers in my life that have sparked this light within my life. I hope I can light the sparks in the future geologists, push for them to reach their limits, and to chase their passions. As I have had this done to me by my fellow geologists. These are reasons why I not only want but every day choose to become a geologist.
Grace Ojala SA-9664
Michigan Technological University Michigan Section
While I have been picking up rocks my whole life, it is not the reason I want to be a geologist. Neither do I want to be a geologist because of my long-standing fascination with fluorescent rocks, despite how exciting they are. No, I study the geosciences because I am fascinated by archaeology, especially the idea that remnants from the long-ago past are hiding underground, their stories waiting to be told. Yet one of the fundamental problems of archaeology is knowing where to dig. No archaeology project has enough time and enough money to dig everywhere that might contain some trace of the past. This is the reason I want to be a geologist—or rather, a geophysicist.
Geophysics provides the tools that allow one to look under- ground for signs of archaeological sites without actually break- ing the surface of the earth. It also provides a set of technologies that can be used to scan heavily forested areas to find features obscured by dense vegetation. Ground-penetrating radar, LiDAR, magnetometry—all of these open up the realm of the past. Increasingly, archaeological excavations begin with
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