UT Austin GeoFORCE Academies: Training the Next GenerationZ of Geologists (ft. Jasmine Gulick)

Here we have a chat with Jasmine Gulick, a coordinator of the GeoFORCE 9th grade academy. What is GeoFORCE? Why should you be interested in geology? — All the burning questions to get you introduced into geology, answered!

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Got a lava questions? Email me at dgaur@utexas.edu

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Transcript

Introduction to the Art of Subduction

[00:00:00] Diya Gaur: Okay, welcome everyone to the Art of Subduction. This is episode three and we're with Jasmine. from UT Austin, and she is a coordinator for the Jackson School of Geosciences GeoForce program. So Jasmine, if you would like to introduce yourself. 

Jasmine's Journey into Geology

[00:00:42] Diya Gaur: Hi everyone, 

[00:00:43] Jasmine Gulick: my name is Jasmine Gulick. I am the senior program coordinator for GeoForce, which means that I am currently the Longest standing and most experienced coordinator on staff with GeoForce.

Um, I never intended to get into, uh, the field of geology. A fun fact about me is that my dad is a marine geophysicist, and when I was growing up in the way that geophysics was, Kids often are. I was like, I think geology's terrible and weird and gross because my dad did it. So obviously I wanted nothing to do with it.

And then after college, I, uh, as I was sort of like looking for jobs, I was looking for coordinator jobs specifically because I've always really enjoyed logistical planning, um, and things of that nature. And I've always worked in education and, uh, summer camps. So, when I saw GeoForce, I was like, oh, this is amazing, this gets to combine my, you know, love of education, but also my love of science in general, and, and, you know, that outdoorsy nature of, of the program.

Uh, so I applied, and I, I got the job as a coordinator, uh, almost six years ago now, so, uh, it's been pretty exciting. Actually, over six years ago now. Wow. Yeah, so it's been a really fun journey. I've had so much, so many amazing memories and experiences with this program, so I'm really happy to be here to talk about it.

[00:02:06] Diya Gaur: Yeah, I mean, I'm really glad about your experiences as well. 

Impact of GeoForce on Students

[00:02:09] Diya Gaur: So I met Jasmine in eighth grade. She came to my middle school and basically gave me a presentation about what GeoForce was. And that's initially how I got involved in the program. And I think she's like the first person I really met from GeoForce.

Um, I still remember the like presentation and the slides, which we were presented and that was in my science class during the pandemic. So even though it was virtual, I was like, Yeah, I like this program, I'm gonna stick with it, and I'm gonna see how it goes, and I think, like, GeoForce made such a big decision in what I want to do now, in, like, pursuing geology as an undergraduate major.

[00:02:43] Jasmine Gulick: Always so wonderful to hear, and stories like that are absolutely why we do this program. Like, the reason I'm still here six years later is because of students like you, and the ones that really, you know, this is, uh, an experience that is so special because people don't get a lot of earth science education in school, there's like a little bit in middle school, and then the only earth science in high school is if you take it as an elective, and not every school even offers that, uh, so we find GeoForce to be so, so special and important because The geosciences are such an important field, um, and such a big field that really touches every aspect of our future, whether it's in industry or science exploration, space or the ocean or whatever it might be, right?

So I love to hear the stories of all the students who've been touched by this program. 

[00:03:30] Diya Gaur: And like, also just like, I know GeoForce is mainly just for Texas, but I just think that one reason why I was inspired to start my podcast as well is because we don't have programs like GeoForce open to everyone.

It's more of like a niche Texas type of thing, which is really open for Texas students. And I feel like if it weren't because of GeoForce, I really wouldn't be going into geology now just because I didn't know about it. But I think the exposure that I got from GeoForce is really like what's needed in other students as well.

So I think even through my podcast, that's what I hope to achieve to help students. More specifically, high schoolers going to geology and learn more about it. Love 

[00:04:08] Jasmine Gulick: that. I love to hear that. 

[00:04:11] Diya Gaur: Yeah. So, I mean, quick question. 

Recruitment and Selection Process

[00:04:13] Diya Gaur: When GeoForce, or people who are interested in GeoForce, when they learn about it in eighth grade, what usually are you looking for in those individuals?

Great question. So, um, 

[00:04:25] Jasmine Gulick: we are specifically, when, so when we go to recruit at schools, that's not really the start of our selection process. That's our sort of. Hmm, how do I re say this? That's the start of our selection process in the sense that that's how we find the students who are interested, right? We go and we recruit in front of, whether it's a single science class or an auditorium full of several hundred students, we sort of have a mix of all of that in our recruitment season, and we will often catch like one or two kids in those presentations that Something about that, that presentation, something about how we describe our program, um, catches their interest, and some of them aren't even interested in science at all at that point.

Some of them are, a lot of them aren't, some of them aren't, but something about it catches their interest enough that they apply. What we're looking at in the applications is a genuine desire to explore. Uh, so we really, we ask a lot of questions in our applications about, um, whether, like, what, what do the students think they're gonna get out of GeoForce, um, and what is their already set interest in the sciences in general, because, uh, geology can really mix with all of the different scientific paths and fields, and we're, we're interested in in catching the students who are open to exploring a field that they wouldn't have thought of beforehand.

[00:05:46] Diya Gaur: Yeah, like, absolutely. I totally agree with that statement as well. Like, I think in the same way, that's kind of what got me interested in what I want to do now. Like, I want to do research in geobiology, and it's just like mixing those different disciplines together. And I think that's super cool as well, because like, Even if you haven't thought about geology, but you know you're interested in some type of science, there's always, like, some type of way to incorporate it with geology, and that's what I think is, like, it's such a versatile feel, like, you can just do so much with geology in general.

You really, really can, 

[00:06:17] Jasmine Gulick: and it's, that's why it's so special, and that's why, even though I grew up thinking I hated geology, right, because I wanted nothing to do with it, my dad did, I've now come around to being, like, the biggest geology fangirl, so. Yeah, 

[00:06:30] Diya Gaur: that's so true. Actually, when we were on our 12th grade trip, um, Mr.

Jamie Austin, he made us do a speech in front of everyone else. And I remember one of his questions being, how did you get into GeoForce? And, you know, why did you decide to do GeoForce in general? And everyone was like, either like, yeah, I kind of did it because my mom told me to, but then at the end of the day, like you see, they've been here through like since eighth grade, and they're still doing it.

And then And even if their parents made them do it, it was like, a good decision for them and they ended up having a really nice and happy outcome from it. So yeah. I mean, I think that was kind of funny as well, like how we can go from, you know, not really knowing about something, not really liking, for example, geology, and with your dad as well.

How we can go from like, not really liking it, to like, loving it. 

[00:07:17] Jasmine Gulick: Yeah. As long as you're open to the possibility, like, that's the number one most important thing in all, for everything in your life, as long as you're open to the possibility of, um, exploring something. 

[00:07:29] Diya Gaur: Yeah, for sure. I mean, how, how did you initially, like, make that transition from not really liking geology to getting further into it and, you know, finding it super interesting?

It really was 

Field Experiences and Favorite Mountains

[00:07:41] Jasmine Gulick: that first, I mean, so, you know, I've always liked science, um, and I've certainly Dabbled, like, around, uh, the fields, like, the larger earth science fields, astronomy and things like that, uh, but it wasn't until that first summer that I was a GeoForce coordinator, and I was there, standing in the back as the coordinators do, you know, handling all of the food logistics and everything, but listening to the instructor.

Uh, give their, their talks, and specifically I remember it was my first 11th grade academy, which our 11th grade academy takes students out to, um, Oregon and Washington State, and talks about volcanics and things like that, and so as I was sitting there in the back of the group, You know, figuring out dinner that night, I was listening to the instructor, uh, give this, like, really passionate talk about Mount St.

Helens, and I just, that will always stick with me, as I was like, oh my gosh, this is actually really cool, and I want to know more, and now I feel like I could give that talk six years later, I feel like I could, I could instruct that academy, because I just got so excited and interested. To learn more about it, so.

[00:08:49] Diya Gaur: Right. On the topic of Mt. St. Helens, what would you say your favorite mountain is? Oh my gosh, that's a really 

[00:08:56] Jasmine Gulick: good question. 

[00:08:56] Diya Gaur: What 

[00:08:56] Jasmine Gulick: is my favorite mountain? Um, I think Mt. St. Helens is special for that experience, but I think my favorite is Mt. Hood. Mount Hood is the mountain that we go up with our students, actually to, not quite the top, but up the mountain, and we have a snowball fight.

Um, but just being on top of that mountain and kind of seeing the, the view of Oregon, um, from that great height is, I think, a really special experience that has stuck with me, uh, ever since the first time I did it, so. Probably Mount Hood. What's your favorite mountain? 

[00:09:31] Diya Gaur: I like Mount Rainier a lot because they have the little meadows and if you go during the springtime, it's so beautiful and you'll see all of the different, like, mountain animals, like, just walking around.

I think it's so cute. I love that. Yeah, and I actually drank glacier water from Mount Rainier. Oh my gosh, it was, like, perfect. The most crisp water I've ever tasted in my entire life. 

[00:09:55] Jasmine Gulick: Absolutely. Yeah, no, that's a special experience for sure. 

[00:09:58] Diya Gaur: It was so cool because, I mean, I accidentally left my water bottle in the car and what ended up happening is that we went to the highest panorama point on Mount Rainier.

Like, I went and hiked with my mom there and We figured out, oh my gosh, we forgot to bring our extra bottle of water, but we're like, oh hey, there's like this fresh stream of water just flowing down the mountain, so why not just, you know, pick up some water in our little containers and just drink it. And it was actually really good.

That's awesome. 

[00:10:28] Jasmine Gulick: That's a special experience. 

[00:10:29] Diya Gaur: Yeah. Yeah, I think it was like really, I don't know, it's kind of unique. Like, I don't, I would have never like expected myself to do that, but you know, it happened. 

[00:10:39] Jasmine Gulick: You'll do all of that and more when you go on your geology field camp experiences, I'm sure. 

[00:10:45] Diya Gaur: That's so true.

I mean, actually, my researchers from my 12th grade academy, um, they were working on the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, so I was, like, studying glaciers for a week, and so my mentor, Mr. Benjamin Kiesling, and also, uh, A couple other people who he was working with, they went to Greenland, and they did a bunch of studies there, and I think that's so interesting how they're showing the eyesheets there, so, I would love to do that in the future.

Absolutely. There is definitely opportunities, so. Yeah, I think travel is also like one amazing thing that you can do with geology. It's all of the field experiments really and so you get to see all these different and beautiful geological formations and you know, I just love that aspect of it and I think many geologists can relate to that as 

[00:11:34] Jasmine Gulick: well.

It's definitely what brings a lot of people into the field is that travel component. Right. Which is why we do it on GeoForce as well. We're so, so big on wanting to keep our, our travel and keep our ability to take students out of state, because that's such a big part of geology as a field. And there is definitely, just like you were doing this last year with 12th grade, where you're, you're working, You know, in a, in a lab, in a computer, uh, you know, doing more of that, like, remote work of geology, there's that too.

And I think the field is really trying to be more accessible to people in all, uh, walks of life who may or may not have the ability or the desire to go out, uh, and, and study and do those long, long hikes, but it is still such a core element of, of geoscience to have that. adventure. It's one of the, I feel like, the fields of science that still has the most adventure.

[00:12:28] Diya Gaur: Right. Yeah, like, for sure. I think, I mean, also along that entire one week of 12th grade, I learned how to code in Python, and I think that was so interesting and cool because by the end of it, I was able to code, like, a map of Antarctica, like, make specific, um, things about it in there, and put it on my research presentation, like, which we did at the symposium, and You know, that was actually really fun.

I never thought I would be able to code in Python because it's so difficult, but I think through GeoForce, with the help of all the research mentors and my friends as well, it was just super rewarding and like really fun to experience with other people. So yeah. I, I'm so glad you had such a 

[00:13:10] Jasmine Gulick: good experience with it.

Those are the things that we try to do. Building the confidence of our students to, to be like, yes, I can do this thing. I can go into this field. That is a big part of our program. 

[00:13:23] Diya Gaur: Yeah, and also, I mean, just like, all of the connections that you make, so I mean, over the course of, like, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, I just remember meeting all of these different researchers and, you know, talking to them about their work.

So for example, I remember during the 10th grade academy, we had Miss Stephanie Suarez come and speak to us about, like, what she does, and one thing that I was so fascinated by is the fact that she had moon rocks with her, and we could actually touch those. It was, like Wow, that is wild. And I was like, now I can finally say I've actually touched the moon before, so I think that was super fun.

And then also we had a couple of people from Exxon and Shell during the 12th grade academy, and I think it was really rewarding to connect with them as well, because you kind of get a glimpse into what being in the industry is like as well. Absolutely. Yeah. So any advice to the people who are applying for GeoForce this year?

Application Advice and Changes in GeoForce

[00:14:24] Diya Gaur: Like, what is the process of applying, like, per se, and what exactly is involved in the application? 

[00:14:30] Jasmine Gulick: Yeah, so our, um, as you mentioned earlier, our program is really meant for students from Texas. We have accepted students from out of state before, especially if they're, uh, able to and willing to get to. Our, um, sort of starting locations, which are usually in either Uvalde, Austin, or Houston, but for the most part, our program is, is for Texas students.

Uh, there is, since this podcast is going to everyone, um, if you live in Alaska, there is actually a GeoForce Alaska as well. Um, them, they mostly work with, uh, students from the tribes at, above the Arctic Circle. Uh, but if you, if you do live in Alaska, I would check that out. They have their own, um, program and funding up there.

They're kind of our sister program out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. But when it comes to our GeoForce Texas program, the flagship of the GeoForce program, we are gonna start our recruiting season and our application for new students opens on October 1st. Uh, this application will then go all the way till the end of January.

So, it's a quite a large application window. We really encourage our students to take their time, uh, with, uh, their application and make sure it's everything that they want to say. We primarily are recruiting current 8th grade students. So, those who are in 8th grade right now, we're recruiting you to start that summer before 9th grade.

But we do accept students at all stages, so if you are already a 9th grader, already a 10th grader, already an 11th grader, you can still apply. And if there's a spot in the cohort, you might be able to get pulled in at that later level. But for the most part, what we're looking for are those 8th graders.

And our coordinators will go to the schools in Houston, Austin, and the Southwest Texas region in kind of San Antonio and around Uvalde, all the way down to the border. In that general vicinity, um, and, uh, talk to the students about the program, um, but you can apply regardless of what school you're in, even if your school wasn't one of the ones chosen, uh, for a recruitment session.

The application itself is pretty simple. You have to give us information about yourself, and then you'll have to answer a series of short answer questions. Uh, so these Questions are things like, how do you think GeoForce will impact you, um, what is your, like I said, what is your interest in, uh, science, especially the geosciences, um, and we ask you about, sort of, your involvement in school, what clubs are you in, uh, organizations like that, um, things, things along that line.

Uh, what we're looking for in those applications. It's kind of hard to describe. We do have a rubric. Uh, we don't post that rubric publicly because we don't want students just to, like, write to the rubric. We want to get their genuine answers, and we do have a, uh, meeting, so everyone will, will blind all the applications, all of the coordinators will give the scores that they think based on the rubric, and then when we unblind the applications and we look at people's specific circumstances, uh, we do have a, a little bit of wiggle room for those students.

Students that maybe didn't answer the strongest in some of the questions, but have some sort of circumstance that we're like, this student could really benefit from the program and could really, uh, shine in our program. So, so it's, it's sometimes hard. It's a very long, it's a full day meeting when we select our students.

It really, it really does take all day. There's a lot that goes into that decision. 

[00:18:02] Diya Gaur: Yeah, I can imagine, because like, I mean, it's such an amazing program, I can definitely believe that you guys get a lot of applicants to it as well. Sure do. So it must be very competitive. It sure is. But it's a really great program.

Yeah. 

[00:18:15] Jasmine Gulick: Yeah. I would highly 

[00:18:16] Diya Gaur: recommend everyone to apply to TO4s. I think it's really life changing, actually. You mentioned Mount Hood earlier, and like, I really thought back to my snowball fight with, um, like, Mitchell and all of the people who are in the Houston cohort. I remember making, um, a snowman of Mitchell with his glasses on it.

I'm not sure if you saw that photo, but that was super fun. Yeah. That's so fun. And also, like, we had the campfire thing, and that was also super nice as well. I applied to GeoForce with my friends, like, from middle school, and I'm, we're still going strong, so, I mean, I think that was really nice as well, so, yeah.

Love that. So, also, hypothetically, if you were an 8th grade student right now, and you were applying to GeoForce, what would you write about? 

[00:19:05] Jasmine Gulick: So, there's two ways to answer this question, right? If I were myself, in all of my experience and like, what I know now, but like, somehow an 8th grader, what I would write would really be talking about like, my passion for the geosciences and how fascinating it is, and how like, I could definitely see myself wanting to do research in some sort of field of geosciences.

Uh, you know, planetary geology or something like that. I would talk about that and I would talk about how much I love to travel and how much I love learning and, and how excited I am to, like, form bonds with a cohort. That's what I would say now. If I were an 8th grader, like, if it was me, but how I was in 8th grade and I somehow was, like, my dad was like, you have to apply to this program, GeoForce, or something like that.

Um, I, I don't know how, how good my answers would have been, uh, which is a sad thing looking back, but I, I think we all come upon our own journeys, uh, in our own paces, right? So we can't, we can't force the, the students who aren't interested to be part of it, especially because as you say, we have so many applicants, so in the end where we're looking for the kids that already know that this is something they're interested in, uh, we do get a lot of applicants.

Students whose parents forced them to apply and that we can usually tell. So, um, you know, it, it's a mixed bag of what ends up happening in that kind of situation. Sometimes even if they're being forced to apply, they still genuinely jump in feet first, ready to, to hit the ground running. Uh, and other times it's very clear that it's not the experience for them.

Uh, and that's fine because in the end of the day, we all have, have different paths in life, right. I don't think I, I think I would have loved GeoForce if I actually got in, but I don't think I would have applied or done well in the application as an 8th grader. If that makes sense. 

[00:20:56] Diya Gaur: No, that makes sense. I mean, I can see why.

I mean, like, you know, also our writing skills aren't so developed as well. Like, when I sometimes go back to my GeoForce essay, which I wrote, like, four years ago, and I'm like, hmm, I can't believe, like, I actually wrote like this, and now you kind of see how much you've improved, like, both as a writer and just, like, in the content of what you wrote then.

So, I mean, I think it's, like, kind of different, but 

[00:21:21] Jasmine Gulick: Was your essay the one about the earthquake? I don't remember, Wade. 

[00:21:26] Diya Gaur: I could actually tag afterwards, but maybe. I don't remember. 

[00:21:30] Jasmine Gulick: I might remember your essay. This was back when our application was an essay that students had to write, which is different from now.

Now it's just short answers, which we think gets more to the heart of what our students need. you know, want to tell us. 

[00:21:42] Diya Gaur: Yeah, and I also remember that when I was doing the essay it was actually super fun to write because I did a bit of research as well and I think that was pretty rewarding, 

[00:21:52] Jasmine Gulick: really. I'm so glad you had that experience.

We definitely thought that the essay probably intimidated a lot of people away, um, so we ended up cutting it as a component but I kind of miss it. I really liked reading everyone's essays. 

[00:22:06] Diya Gaur: Yeah, so I'm actually looking at my essay right now. I was talking about sustainable energy. Yeah, sustainable energy and glaciers.

Yeah, that was mine. What a full circle moment, right? Yeah, I went from talking about glaciers in my ninth grade essay to actually doing research on them. That is like actually so cool. That is very 

[00:22:28] Jasmine Gulick: very 

[00:22:29] Diya Gaur: cool. We did a full, like, you know, 360. Yeah, 

[00:22:33] Jasmine Gulick: you did. Full circle. 

[00:22:35] Diya Gaur: Yep. But I mean, I think that was really nice as well.

I mean, in terms of like activities wise, has anything particularly changed in the 9th and 10th grade academies? Like, I remember we would have the lecture and then we would do an activity. What is it like now? 

[00:22:52] Jasmine Gulick: Yes, so, in general, our program is always innovating. We're always talking about ways that we can improve and ways we can keep it updated, and also, in general, students are changing.

Our program started in 2005. The students that existed in 2005 and the students that are around today are different people. They have different sort of expectations of their learning, and they come from very different places societally, uh, so we can't keep the exact same thing that we did in 2005. in 2005 to what we do now.

Um, and we also grow and update and, and discover new things and find better experiences or safer experiences or whatever it might be as the program continues on. So, uh, we actually just had our big meeting, uh, last week about what updates we're going to do for this next summer. Uh, but it's a big thing we do every, every fall or at the end of summer to talk about what are the What are the things we're going to change, um, how are we going to innovate?

One of the big changes that happened, I think it would have been right around your 9th grade year, either at your 9th, no, it would have been probably between your 9th and 10th grade. We did away with quizzes and tests. So we used to do, uh, quizzes and tests with, uh, every single day, pretty much, we did a quiz.

And then at the end of your GeoForce week, you had to pass a test in order to come back. And that was how we originally assessed how students were engaged. Um, but we discovered that, you know, not everyone does well with quizzes and tests. It's not always a great, uh, way to assess, uh, students actual engagement or learning.

That's something schools are also realizing. There's less and less. Quizzes and tests in schools than there used to be when, for instance, I was growing up. Um, so now we have different types of assessments. We have more sketches, more group projects, or individual projects, more ways for students to do, like with the 12th grade, uh, actual research type, uh, things.

And that's a lot better and is working more well for our current student population than what we, we used to do with quizzes and tests. But in terms of changes to the stops. The 9th grade academy has changed significantly. So, I'm gonna make, I'm gonna make you really upset, uh, and other people perhaps really upset, but the 9th grade actually used to go to Florida.

[00:25:10] Diya Gaur: What? Wow. Yeah, we don't do 

[00:25:12] Jasmine Gulick: that anymore. Uh, that, that was cut some, mmm, 8 years ago, we switched to Texas. Oh my gosh. Um, because while Florida is a lovely, lovely place to go, there's some really great beaches on Texas. So, we used to do this coastal geology program in Florida, and then we switched to Texas, and we did a coastal geology program in Texas, and then much more recently, we changed the structure of the ninth grade to not be entirely focused on coastal geology, but to be more focused on, like, the sediment.

How do sediments move from Sort of mountains, down rivers, the agents of transportation, and eventually make their way to the coast, uh, and using that as a model sort of for Geology 101 versus, um, purely being focused on beaches. So, and we are making some big, big changes this year for the 9th grade as well, uh, again, on that same type of vein.

Like, how do we, how do we make the 9th grade experience a really good starting point for our students that they can leap off into that 10th grade? And 11th grade. The 10th grade experience hasn't changed. Neither 10th or 11th have changed significantly since they were invented. Uh, the 10th grade has always gone to Arizona and Utah and always been about reading the rock record.

We'll switch out a stop here and there. We just added Bryce Canyon last year. It was our first year adding Bryce Canyon. Um, and so that's been a really great experience, uh, and the students have really liked that. And then the 11th grade Oregon and Washington State has been the same since the very first 11th grade in 2007, um, and, uh, that one also we've only, we try out things like we tried out Mount Rainier, um, we've tried out, uh, different, uh, sort of areas like the Hatfield Marine Science Center, Um, different activities, but for the most part those have not changed very much, just little little changes.

It's our 9th and our 12th that have had the most significant changes as we, like, try to come up with better ways to start the program and to cap off the program. 

[00:27:10] Diya Gaur: Right, it's always like that basis of knowledge that we always need to know, like, you know, it's really fundamental to have the basics of geology down because that's really, like, how you can build up your knowledge from there as well.

I mean, I do remember, like, also in the virtual sessions that we had in ninth grade, because that was the pandemic year, I think it was 2021 for us, and we actually did quite a bit of, you know, figuring out how sediments, like, move through, like, rivers and just learning about the different, like, stuff that we can find in the coast.

I think it would be really cool to have gone to the coast, but I think that was, like, also super Interesting to learn about as well, even though it was virtually. So, yeah. So, you also did mention, like, inclusivity, like, just making geology a bit more inclusive for everyone and their different learning types.

I mean, how can we apply that, possibly, to the field of geology and, you know, make it more inclusive in terms of different learning styles, working styles, um, society, and so on? 

[00:28:10] Jasmine Gulick: That's a great question. So it's, it's a big, big conversation in the geosciences right now, because traditionally all geology majors, um, pretty much across the United States have a required field camp.

So, the students will do all of their geology classes in normal school type setting, and of course there's a general conversation educationally about the inclusivity and the, uh, adapt or accessibility of things like tests. Uh, and how we can do projects and things and other types of assessments, but one of the big barriers to entry with the geosciences was A, the calculus requirements, um, and whether or not that kind of hard math is really necessary in the geosciences, I'll come back to that, but B, it was this required field camp, so all geology, Uh, majors pretty much universally are required to do field camp, and field camp, traditionally, has always been like a six week expedition to Montana, or Wyoming, or somewhere like that.

Challenges in Geoscience Education

[00:29:09] Jasmine Gulick: Um, it's a very physically demanding, uh, summer course, basically. Um, and that itself has forced a lot of people who are maybe not physically able to do that kind of work. to not be geology majors, which is a really big shame because there are huge swaths of the geosciences that you can do and have to do from labs or from, uh, your computer.

The whole field of planetary geology at this point is pretty much entirely, uh, based on lab and satellite work, and there's very, very few geologists that get to actually go up in space, right? Um, so, yeah. I think it is, it's a disservice and it's something that the, the geoscience community is trying really, really hard to fix, uh, and to offer more, uh, alternatives to field camps that are maybe based on, uh, more, um, accessible environments, uh, or offering ways that students who maybe Uh, might be in a wheelchair, be able to actually go out and field camp, but have kind of an adapted way of doing research or looking at the data, um, and things like that is a, is a big question, and it's something we with GeoForce have talked about a long, long time, because we also have these very physically demanding trips, and how do we make sure that our trips are accessible?

Adapting to Virtual Learning

[00:30:28] Jasmine Gulick: Um, and that was one of the silver linings for us with the pandemic. In 2020, uh, when, you know, the world went on lockdown in March 2020, the GeoForce program, uh, we had been all set up and ready and gotten everything prepared for a normal GeoForce summer, and we literally had about six So we spent six ish weeks to completely re adapt our program to a virtual environment, which was quite a challenge.

We had a lot of help. We had help by Dr. Kathy Ellens, who's a geoscience education researcher, and Dr. Dana Thomas, and we Completely took all of our in person programs and made them virtual, um, and we did that for two summers. So 2020 and 2021, all of our programming was virtual because of the pandemic.

And once we were able to go back in person, of course, we, we love the in person experience. We think it's so special. We think it's so much more effective on the whole. 

Inclusivity in Geoscience

[00:31:22] Jasmine Gulick: For students to be able to have that in person experience, but we did see a lot of value in that virtual environment, and so now we've been able to adapt our virtual programming that we had to create to make a permanent virtual academy so that we can have at least a little bit of that accessibility for the students who want it or need it.

This year, our students in the Virtual Academy actually also got to learn how to code in Python. They had a very different project than the Benjamin Kiesling group from 12th grade. Y'all were looking at, you know, I sheet modeling, and this other group was had a more general project, um, because it was a combination of two different 9th through 12th graders who did the virtual academy.

But I think it's so important and special to show students that they have opportunities regardless of physical ability or things like we've seen with the pandemic. There's a lot of people who are immunocompromised who have discovered that they really can't be out and about with everyone as much. And so having these virtual environments is really, really important for them to still be able to experience all of these special things.

So. 

[00:32:29] Diya Gaur: Right. That 

[00:32:29] Jasmine Gulick: was a long winded answer. 

The Importance of Geoscience

[00:32:31] Diya Gaur: No, that was a really good answer, and honestly speaking, I have not thought about that before, so that, like, I mean, that's definitely a new perspective for me, and, like, I'm actually glad that you mentioned that as well, because, you know, geology itself is not a very, Or it's not a relatively well known field, like, you know, I will mention geology to people who are like maybe twice or thrice my age, and they're like, Oh, what's geology?

I've never heard of that. And so, I mean, I think also just like making it more inclusive to learn about geology as well is super important, like, Even if you're not intending to pursue geology actively, it's always good to know that, you know, there is this field which gives you all of the general knowledge that you need to know about the Earth.

And I think, also, in the time and age we're living in today, it's more imperative than ever to know how exactly Earth works. It's a super, I mean, it's not super new, but it's super important. It's still a new and emerging field as well, so there's like a lot of developments to be made and also improvements to be made to the field overall.

Thank you for that point, that was really good actually. 

[00:33:36] Jasmine Gulick: I'm glad. I'm glad. It is super, super important. And the geosciences, like I said, is such a, such an important field. It's, you know, how we're going to look into the energy crisis and climate change, how we're going to look into critical minerals and studying things in space and, like, in our oceans.

And there's so much in the geosciences, and it's so, so important for it to be accessible, uh, to anyone who wants to learn about it. And as you mentioned, one of the things that I love about GeoForce is that even though Um, not all of our students go into the geosciences. Every student comes out of GeoForce understanding the geosciences and is able to educate their communities and the people that they interact with about it.

Because as you say, it's a really mystifying field for reasons that are mystifying to me. Why is it that we don't teach, uh, about the geosciences, earth science, geology, all of that, you know, to everyone? 

[00:34:28] Diya Gaur: Yeah, and Frankly speaking, like, the only thing I really learned in class or in school about geology was, like, you know, the different layers of the earth, like, I just remember doing a project on that, and that was kind of it, like, we never really went more in depth about, like, the actual processes, like, occur on earth and why it's so important to know with the glaciers, like, climate change, all that stuff that's occurring.

It's like, we really need to educate the future generations how to, you know, save the earth and just, you know, make sure that we can keep on advancing our sustainable energies and Make a difference in climate change as well. Absolutely.