the Earth System Science and Geology
program at Morehead State University as
one of a kind one of the strongest
programs in the country in regards to
post-graduation student success
the department has attracted students
from all walks of life and has led to
opportunities otherwise not available
Morehead State was actually the only
school that I applied to because when I
came to visit campus I knew this is
absolutely where I wanted to be so that
ultimately led me to be able to do
research starting when I was just a
sophomore and that led to two
prestigious internships one at the
American Museum of Natural History and
their Department of invertebrate
paleontology and another for the
National Park Service they offer
something a lot of other programs can't
offer which is the the hands-on and the
knowledge I mean they have people who've
arrived very backgrounds of course
recently retired Charles Mason world
famous paleontologists gen dr. O'Keefe
dr. Reed sedimentology igneous petrology
Marshall Chapman
I initially started out as a psychology
major with a double major in Spanish and
I actually have finished my manner my
minor in Spanish but I was looking
online and I had decided that semester
that I did not want to be a psychology
major so I was looking at my different
interests and when I was going through
my gen ed classes I took dangerous
planets it's like you know this sounds
like a lot of fun and it was just really
interesting and the classes were small
the professors in the department where
it's just really friendly and supportive
and I thought that was that seemed like
something I could do for the rest of my
life
the earth system science and geology
program is also unique in that there are
significant scholarship funds available
to its students for many the financial
aid has made the difference in their
educational careers I'm actually a
first-generation college student and a
first-generation graduate student so
oftentimes at the end of the academic
year I would be going into the next
academic year wondering how I was going
to pay for school my parents weren't
able to help me so I was kind of all on
my own
so when I received the academic
scholarship I knew that I was going to
be able to pay for school that year and
keep going and that was my senior year
so I knew that I was going to be able to
finish without that scholarship without
that additional support I'm not sure
that I would have been able to finish
all my classes especially since I
probably would have had to pick up a
third job just to try to make it by
between rent and childcare and you know
raising a family and just that school
life balance has been incredibly
improved by the support we've received
still yet perhaps the most unique
impactful and memorable facet of this
program is its faculty charlie Mason dr.
John Okeefe dr. Steve Reed
dr. Marshall Chapman dr. Eric dirty they
were all there from the beginning and I
didn't ever expect to come to school and
feel at home it was a home away from
home so that made things a lot easier I
mean all these people from these
different backgrounds they have the
knowledge that they can come they've
honed over the extraneous to a format
that we can get and they have a system
of course sometimes it's a little
chaotic but it works great and these
people I mean once you really get to
know these people it's pretty much like
that
while many student experiences are
different positive student relationships
with faculty seemed to be a common
denominator
oh and also the Chiodos part of getting
the Feldkamp scholarship is you have to
be active in the geology Club and we did
hot dog sales every once a week during
the semester and we'd always go out to
Charlie's house Monday or Tuesday
depending when to sell was and make
chili charlie chili so we got there
every day they'd be it might be some
weeks at me and Charlie some weeks every
ten of us and we'd pull out skip o or
skip our another card game you say
around play cards and Charlie lecture us
about geology or he'd talk about job
opportunities or sometimes alumni came
in and just kind of made chili with this
or just hung out with us so that was
probably one of the best things about
the program is you you senior faculty
outside of class and outside of laughing
in general the relationships made and
experiences had in Earth System science
and geology continue far beyond
graduation it's alumni remain committed
to Morehead State University it's
faculty and to each other
MSU definitely prepared me for my future
education at Utah State and then I also
prepared me for job careers a lot of the
jobs of God have been through
connections I made MSU either through
Charles Mason or a different faculty or
from another student I went to school at
the top immediately coming in to the
geology program I knew that I was at
home and I knew that I had a family
surrounding me that was going to support
me all the way through so to anybody if
they were to ask me where where should I
go to pursue my undergraduate degree in
geology I would tell them Moorhead every
single time because you're not going to
find the type of experience that I had
anywhere
you
