Well this week was quite the week for the old Wizard.
I was able to get my first field work experience in the STEM field. It was very cool as we drove across Colorado to the western slope to go camp out in a landslide. Okay, maybe we weren’t actually camping in a landslide, but we did make our way out to Lake City where we camped for 3 nights.
We had a variety of different objectives for this trip including setting up and running different radar systems, collecting soil moisture samples, setting up ground control points for flying drones, flying drones. I wish I could have flown them, but that was not the case. The rest of the time was spent either setting up, tearing down, and conversing about everything you can imagine related to landslides, their impact, climate change, education and so on.
It was a very cool experience to be able to hang out with STEM folks who are actually the real deal. I feel that I learned so much and I barely scratched the surface in the Earth sciences. I do have pictures that I will post later this weekend.
I think the biggest takeaway from this trip was to see what field work is really like and rolling with the punches when things don’t go as planned. Secondly, maybe this might be more significant, but I am thinking this experience destroyed a mental block that I have always had about the idea of possibly pursuing a PhD. I feel more confident now in knowing that I don’t have to be the smartest person in the room or even in the tier. I learned that if you really have focus and are willing to put in the time that anyone can get a PhD. You just have to be disciplined and committed enough to make it happen.
Have a great week folks, pictures coming soon.
