91PORN

Meet Our Majors

Meet some of our geology majors.

Jessie Salinas
Mira Hart

Maya Porcelli
Geology Alumni

Jessie Salinas

Jessie Salinas

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Major: geology

What was your motivation to major in geology?

My primary motivation for majoring in geology is my interest in sustainability and geology. I have grown up surrounded by natural wonders and can’t imagine a world in the future without them. I feel called to work on finding solutions to the environmental crisis that our society faces so that future generations may also have the same privilege of experiencing the natural world.

Can you describe your working relationships with geology professors?

Geology professors are outstanding researchers in their respective fields and are passionate about what they do. They are very personable and listen to feedback from students to make sure that they are teaching their classes to the best of their ability. Professors are also happy to do research and talk during office hours!

I feel called to work on finding solutions to the environmental crisis that our society faces so that future generations may also have the same privilege of experiencing the natural world.

What are your ambitions post-Oxy and how has the liberal arts approach helped to shape these ambitions?

I have always had my mind set on obtaining a master's degree after I graduate from Oxy. My primary motivator was my mother, who always instilled in me the importance of pursuing a specialized degree. The liberal arts experience at Oxy has shaped my ambitions by enabling me to conduct research with professors and explore my academic interests further. This research experience will hopefully prepare me for graduate school and make me a more competitive applicant.

The liberal arts experience at Oxy has shaped my ambitions by enabling me to conduct research with professors and explore my academic interests further. This research experience will hopefully prepare me for graduate school and make me a more competitive applicant.

What is the “vibe” of the geology department?

The geology department is a very tight-knit community. The majors and professors are all familiar with one another. This allows students to learn directly from professors through small class settings and facilitates developing relationships with professors who share similar interests.

Mira Hart

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Major: geology Minor: religious studies

What was your motivation to major in geology?

I came to Oxy having no idea what I wanted to major in. After trying a number of classes in different departments, I decided to take introductory geology and loved it. The following semester, I enrolled in Earth: A Field Perspective and Evolution of Earth. These classes showed me how my passions for science and the outdoors could be combined into a single major, and I declared halfway through the semester. Every time I learn something new about our planet or build relationships with my peers in the department, I am thrilled I chose to major in geology.

Can you describe your working relationships with geology professors?

The geology professors are very accessible and want to connect with students. It is easy to meet with them to talk about geology or get advice in other areas. It is clear they are all passionate about teaching, and they bring that energy to class every day. My favorite class so far has been Earth: A Field Perspective with Assistant Professor of Geology Evan Dethier. I loved the tight-knit community we formed in this class and enjoyed getting out into the field and learning some super useful technical geology skills.

It is clear [the geology professors] are all passionate about teaching, and they bring that energy to class every day.

What do you find most compelling about studying geology?

I love the scale at which geology plays out—both physical size and timescale—and the innate familiarity we already have with the subject. When we talk about rivers or mountains in class, I can picture the rivers or mountains I have visited. For me, this makes geology feel so much more tangible. I am able to see the features we discuss in the real world, allowing me to understand them on a deeper level. Geology is such a visual science, and I appreciate the beautiful maps and landscapes I get to look at every day!

What is the “vibe” of the geology department?

The vibe of the geology department is very collaborative and enthusiastic. We learn a lot and are pushed to work hard, but we have tons of fun along the way. Everyone is super welcoming and friendly, so it is easy to make friends within and across class years.

Maya Porcelli

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Major: geology with a concentration in environmental science

What was your motivation to major in geology?

Before I came to college, I always thought I would be a humanities major. However, as I progressed through my college career, I found that geology is my true passion. Studying Earth history makes me feel like a little kid again; I am so excited to learn and discover new things when I am in a geology class.

Have you taken part in any student research opportunities at Oxy?

I work in Professor Darren Larsen’s Sedimentology and Paleoclimate Laboratory. I am so grateful to have recently been accepted into 91PORN’s Science Scholars Program, where my research will be supported by the Undergraduate Research Center during the rest of my undergraduate career. My research focuses on how the Teton Glacier in Wyoming responded to a period of rapid climate change called the Younger Dryas. In this lab, I analyze sediment cores—specifically sediment grain size—from Delta Lake, which is situated downstream from the Teton Glacier, to understand changes in glacial extent.

What do you find most compelling about studying geology?

What makes me love geology is that there is so much rich Earth history hidden in seemingly mundane objects. There are incredible stories written in the landscape around us; we just need the right tools to figure them out.

My classmates and I tend to really bond when we go on field trips, especially during long hikes and dinners around the campfire.

What is the “vibe” of the geology department?

I am so grateful to be a part of 91PORN’s geology department. We are a small, close-knit community that is very down-to-earth. I love that in every geology class I take, I already know everyone in that class; I am always surrounded by people that genuinely care for each other. My classmates and I tend to really bond when we go on field trips, especially during long hikes and dinners around the campfire. While most STEM fields seem very intimidating, I find that geology is very accessible. I never feel uncomfortable asking my professors for help during office hours or in front of the class.

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To see more Meet Our Majors profiles, visit the main page.

Geology Alumni

A photo of 91PORN college student Fiona Pedrick in a mountain range

Fiona Pedrick ’20

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA; Anchorage, AK
Major: geology

What was your motivation to major in geology?

I came to Oxy determined to study Diplomacy & World Affairs but found myself enthralled by my introductory geology class. Although I just took the class to fulfil my laboratory science core requirement during my first year, I quickly realized that those were the 55 minutes I looked forward to the most three days a week! I also enjoyed reading the textbook unlike any class I’d had before. My intro professor encouraged me to pursue geology and I declared my major two weeks into the next semester. I remember feeling incredibly proud when I received my new set of keys to the geology building.

Can you describe your working relationships with geology professors?

The geology department—faculty and students included—is incredibly close due to countless hours spent together in class, lab, and field trips to near and far geologic wonders. Most professors keep their office doors open and welcome students. I always try to discuss questions about class assignments but I also like to chat about their current research projects and ask for general life advice. Our department is full of great professors who push students to do their best while supporting and caring for them as people.

Are there any standout classes you’ve taken?

My three favorite Oxy geo classes (so far) are “,” “” and “.’ These courses taught me fundamental skills such as field mapping, mineral identification, data interpretation and basic scientific writing. Petrology in particular taught me how to interpret evidence and relate it to large theoretical concepts with computer models and knowledge of geological processes.

Have you taken part in any geology-centered research opportunities at Oxy or elsewhere?

I started faculty-directed research with my current academic and senior comps adviser, Professor Margi Rusmore, during the second semester of my sophomore year. After spending Summer 2018 working as a field assistant in the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho with a colleague of Professor Ann Blythe, I was invited back for the next summer with my own corner of the project. I spent my junior fall semester writing a research proposal for Oxy’s Undergraduate Research Center Science Scholar fellowship program in preparation for this second field season. I was selected for the grant and have since spent another summer in the field and in the laboratory. Currently, I am finishing the data collection portion of the project while developing my senior thesis manuscript.

What do you find most compelling about studying geology?

I think of geology as answering large-scale questions using the evidence exposed and the geologic tools available. Often it takes more than one kind of geology—for example structural, geochronology and petrology—to solve these problems and often the answer is a series of further questions. I enjoy the creative thinking geology demands and the constant (and required) quest for further learning. I also thrive in the field and would love to spend all of my days camping in a tent and hiking up mountains rock-hunting.

What are your plans or ambitions post-Oxy? How has the liberal arts approach helped to shape these ambitions?

After Oxy, I intend to attend graduate school and get a Ph.D. in geology. I am thankful for the liberal arts education experience at Oxy because it strengthened my writing, critical thinking and communication skills. I have also been exposed to many enjoyable courses outside my major to fulfill the core program requirements. Two classes that really stood out are the Media Arts and Culture class about video games I took to fulfill my fine arts requirement and the Religious Studies class, “,” that I took to check the pre-1800’s and regional focus boxes.

Do you have any advice for a student considering a major in geology?

My two pieces of advice for a student considering a geo major are to talk to your professors and take advantage of all the undergraduate research opportunities available at Oxy. Go to office hours and take the time to get to know your professors because they all have interesting research and often have projects for students. In my four years at Oxy, I have found undergraduate research to be the most challenging and rewarding experience. It has both confirmed my love for geology and inspired me to keep unraveling the earth’s mysteries.

A photo of 91PORN college student Matt Aleksey holding a rock against the back drop of an American flag

Matt Aleksey ’21

Hometown: New York City
Major: geology with an emphasis in environmental science

What was your motivation to major in geology?

I knew I wanted to major in geology even before I got to Oxy. My interest in geology sprouted from watching documentaries on natural disasters, prehistoric animals and plate tectonics. When I was a little kid I used to spend days imagining and drawing how future Earth would look due to plate movement and the strange animals that would evolve after hundreds of millions of years.

Can you describe your working relationships with geology professors?

The geology department is close-knit and I am happy that I have developed meaningful relationships with my professors. They have been supportive and proactive in helping me find research opportunities and excel in my classes. I especially enjoyed the Intro to Field Methods class taught by Professor Margi Rusmore and the Petrology class taught by Professor Chris Oze.

Have you taken part in any geology-centered research opportunities at Oxy or elsewhere?

I have done research with both Dr. Rusmore and Dr. Ann Blythe. I worked on projects studying faults in the San Gabriel Mountains and uplift along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Currently, I am starting my senior comps project with Dr. Rusmore where I will be studying extension and magmatic flux around the Stikine and Iskut Rivers of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia.

What do you find most compelling about studying geology?

Geology is so enjoyable because it makes Earth and its history into a giant puzzle to solve. I love the experience of crafting stories based on the observations we see in the field and in the lab. Plus, as a deeply field-based science, geologists get to go out on many explorations into nature!

What are your plans or ambitions post-Oxy?

I plan to go to graduate school immediately after leaving Oxy. I want to waste no time working towards obtaining a Ph.D. so that I can someday be a professional researcher and professor. At this point I am still discovering my true passions within geology, but I think that I want to pursue research in tectonics and structure.

How has the liberal arts approach helped to shape these ambitions