You Enjoy Working with the Earth
Discovering Geology as a Vocation
I had my astrological chart read when I was in 11th grade as part of a class on "Near and Far Eastern Religions." I can still see the beautiful handwriting in red ink that said I enjoyed working with the Earth. At the time I thought, "That makes sense, I like gardening." My mom had, and still has, beautiful rock gardens that my sisters and I helped to create. Little did I know then that those field trips with my mom to collect interesting rocks from the Finger Lakes region of New York would turn into a career as a geologist.
As an 11th grader in a small town in central New York, I had no idea that geology could be a career. Earth science was not an elective in our schools at that time. I remember trying to choose a college major and the silly nursery rhyme that kept repeating in my head, "…doctor, lawyer, merchant, thief…" None of those seemed quite right so I sought out the advice of one of the respected high school teachers. Mr. Rainer taught geography and was as passionate about the subject as he was about teaching. He clearly loved his work. He suggested I take classes that would get me involved with the Middle East because of its growing role in global economics. I graduated in 1976; OPEC was gathering strength and the oil embargo was soon to follow.
I chose to attend a highly ranked liberal arts school, the State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton. I always liked science so I signed up for math and science prerequisite courses and on the advice of a high school teacher, took Arabic as one of my electives. I was fortunate that my Arabic professor recognized I was searching for direction. He asked me if I liked science and suggested that if I did, then I should take geology because the "Middle East means oil" and geologists will be needed to develop the resource.
Dr. Paul Enos taught my first geology course. His passion for geology and tireless energy captured my interest with the first class. Dr. Enos taught in the prePowerPoint era and was renowned for two things: his numerous overhead transparencies and his extensive collection of 35 mm geology slides.
If Dr. Enos did not have the right transparency or slide to illustrate a concept he would draw a picture on the board. Cross sections and maps came to life under his skilled hand. Through his lectures and hands-on geology labs I learned geology is a blend of science and art. The physical principles that control sedimentation could be explained by flow velocity equations or artistically drawn as a fining upward sequence. That data points could be contoured by triangulation or the art of "drawing wispy lines." I discovered geology is a science that takes you outside, is intuitive, fun, and doesn’t seem like work at all.
I had found my major. I still had no idea what I would do with a degree in geology but that’s a story for another time.
So how does AAPG fit into this story? AAPG has a K-12 program, Youth Educational Activities (YEA) that reaches out to students and teachers with Earth science programs. I’ve copied YEA’s mission statement below.
"The Youth Educational Activities Committee serves the membership in the coordination on a national level of the many K-12 programs of individual AAPG members, affiliated societies and sections. It originates and manages programs on the national and international level such as the Earth Science Teacher of Year Award and Teachers Days at the national and sectional meetings. It assists and coordinates earth science and energy activities and programs of national youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and 4H. It serves as a liaison to other earth science organizations in joint activities relating to earth science and energy on a national and international level. Its overall mission is to provide a central organization to help the AAPG membership provide an appreciation of the geoscience profession and its professionals to K-12 students and teachers."
You are an AAPG member. Visit the AAPG-YEA Web site and volunteer to teach during Earth Science Week. Better yet, call your local school and arrange a field trip to your college so the students can see first hand the type of work geologists do. Reach out and capture a child’s imagination. Share your story about discovering geology as a career and perhaps you can help a child discover that they too "enjoy working with the Earth."
Until next time, listen to people you respect, try new things, and remember to have fun!
Denise
Denise Cox
AAPG member since 1984
Chairman Student Focus Coordinating Committee