Now in my second full year here at Memorial, I’ve grown much more accustomed to what university demands of you. The steep learning curve I had to conquer a year ago is far behind me and instead of just surviving, I’ve flourished! I’ve relished every opportunity and things are certainly looking up as I transfer to the main campus.
After an exciting summer working under Dr. Rashid processing deep-sea sediment samples, I began my semester at a geological mapping field school. It turned out to be a more interesting start to the semester than I ever could have imagined as on our third day out in the field I sprained my ankle. Needless to say, things could only get better from there!
In October I was one of thirty geology students from Atlantic Canada’s universities invited by Exxon Mobile to attend a short course in geophysics in St. John’s. Being the only second year student at the event which included master’s students and Ph. D candidates was eye-opening to say the least. Effectively, we were vying for summer internships, but for me it was so much more. What I learned in that one weekend was invaluable, especially as I begin upper year geology and geophysics courses next semester.
Academically, I’ve gotten a much better handle on things this year than I had this time last year. As the course material has gotten deeper and more involved, my interest has grown. I’m ever more interested in what I’m learning and now find myself reading physics and geology journals just simply for pleasure. I can’t wait to see where science takes me next!
It’s been a terrific ride here at Grenfell, and my goodbyes have already started. A lot of people have had an impact on my life since I started here last September and I’ll always cherish the place where I started, but right now, the next logical step for me is to continue my education at the main campus in St. John’s. I look forward to the challenge of basically starting my university life anew, but at least this time I have something to build on! I’m sure this next chapter will be every bit as good as the last!