One of my Ph.D. mentors told me once that I was born to do two things: I was born to teach, and I was born to map. That has stuck with me all these years; I’ve tried to stay true to myself. Teaching at Ohio State’s field camp each summer is one of the best parts of my year, because it blends the two so effortlessly. I get to teach up-and-coming geoscientists how to map. But more importantly, I get to teach them how to “read” the terrain, interpret the geology, and work successfully in a collaborative (sometimes physically demanding) environment. Teaching in the field just ‘rocks’, and that pun was definitely intended.
My undergraduate institution did not have its own field camp, so as a beginning graduate student I attended OSU’s field camp. Quite literally, I never left. The experience changed the trajectory of my professional career.
As a student at field camp, David Elliot and Larry Krissek introduced me to the geology of the Sanpete Valley of central Utah; Terry Wilson then provided that advanced training during those final weeks. For several years afterward, I was a TA at field camp and those three — along with Bill Ausich — became my “field mentors”. They taught me how to teach in the field and how to become a field geologist. In the years since, I became an instructor at field camp, spending many years in an “apprenticeship role” learning the geologic nuances of the region from David Elliot (who I taught with for many summers). More recently, I’ve had the opportunity to teach with Terry, Tom Darrah, Dan Kelley, Will Blocher, Cristina Millan and Ashley Griffith.
Field camp always has been, still is, and always will be a huge part of my life and career path. My field camp mentors set me on this path years ago, and it has enriched my teaching choices and career beyond my expectations. As mentors, Terry, David, Larry, and Bill encouraged me as a younger scientist to hone my field camp teaching skills and my overall field geology skills. Although I cannot pay them back for this, I do try to pay it forward every summer by doing the best job that I can with the next group of SES students in the field as was done to me a long time ago. This includes being on top of my game pedagogically and geologically, while trying to enjoy myself and simply have fun in the field with students and other instructors. In the past few years, I have felt more responsibility to make certain that newer faculty at field camp learn the gorgeous geology of the region like it was taught to me. The goal – each summer – is to work tirelessly to do what is best for the students, so that we are producing the best geologists as possible.
We are always looking for great students to attend field camp. If you are interested in learning more about field camp, please check out the official OSU field camp website. The field camp, whose home base is located in central Utah, was founded in 1947 by Edmund Spieker. Spieker believed that “…the key to successful field education is to put the responsibility to see, to think, to relate, and to conclude onto the student, rather than have teachers point and tell.” We have been doing that effectively for nearly 75 years.