For the longest time, I thought my dream was to be in the arts as a performer, visual artist, or designer.

I spent my childhood in performing arts magnet schools such as K.O. Knudson and Las Vegas Academy of the Arts. I participated in the local PBS Junior Broadcaster program for the Las Vegas Inner City Games and, in early adulthood, did character work at Disneyland. I even had a short-lived career as an aerial artist (those are people who hang from ropes).

On the outside, I had found my calling. 

Although I cherish and value my experiences in the arts, something always felt “off,” as though I was missing a big piece of the puzzle. One winter, I was knee-deep in fashion school and took an intersession Geology class on a whim. That’s when EVERYTHING changed.

Never once had I ever considered going into STEM, but there I was, in a 7AM Geology class eating up every bit of it. It made me question EVERYTHING. Why had I never considered Geology before? Why didn’t they teach us more Earth science in school? Can I actually DO this as a career? And then it dawned on me, Geoscience had always been there, right in front of me my whole life. It was as if a veil was lifted, and things started to make sense. 

What do I mean? Well…although I was born and partially raised in Southern California, I also spent 11 of my formative years in Las Vegas, NV (during the 90s, no less). Being the oldest of 3 in a single-parent family, my siblings and I spent a lot of time outdoors with my Uncle Marshall, a retired Air Force mechanic, while my Mom was at work. Aside from visiting Nellis AFB occasionally, he’d also take us on day trips to Lake Mead and the surrounding areas, where he taught us how to hike and collect rocks. In the summer, my Mom and Grandpa would also take us on camping trips to Zion NP, where we would spend our days hiking the trails, tubing down the river, and roasting marshmallows at night.

Flash forward to elementary school, where I won the National Geographic Geography Bee for my school and competed against middle schoolers in the finals - I didn’t last long, but hey, being the only kid still in elementary school has to count for something, right? I never realized precisely how unique growing up in Las Vegas during that time was when taking school field trips to Red Rock Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and the Valley of Fire was very frequent and routine. I had unwittingly developed a love and long-lasting curiosity for the landscape surrounding me, no matter the locale. 

So when I seriously considered changing my major and doing an entire 180 from the arts towards Geology, my husband Blake seemed to be the only person who knew it made sense for me. He reminded me that every road trip we’ve ever been on comes with a barrage of questions such as: “Ooh, that’s an interesting mountain; I wonder how that happened?” Or “Hmmm, those rocks look different than everything else around it, is it volcanic? Are there volcanos around here?” - For the life of me, I could never wrap my head around how anyone could look out at the landscape or enjoy the gorgeous view and never once ask, “how?”

Needless to say, I did change my major to Geology and started my journey into unknown territory: STEM. I am still in the midst of said journey, facing hurdles I never thought I’d clear, having to start at Beginning Algebra and enduring all the way to Calculus - something that doesn’t seem all that hard to some. Still, to me, it meant overcoming many mental hurdles, as I had always thought I was just bad at math.

Unfortunately, like many others, my journey came to a screeching halt in March 2020 due to the pandemic. I had to abandon my studies to work in retail management full time and support my family through all of the uncertainty and chaos that followed. Working for the last 3 years in a soul-sucking industry (yeah, I said it) with no end in sight, I decided that life was too short to spend being miserable, building someone else’s dream I didn’t believe in. So I took a leap of faith, quit my retail job, and committed to getting back on track with my studies, but this time, with more clarity and a purpose.

In the 3 years I was away, I took every opportunity to share bits and bobbles of Geology with anyone with a genuine interest. During this time, I realized two things: 1. How little the average person knows about earth systems and processes, and 2. How much I enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned by breaking it down into bite-sized and digestible pieces. It became clear to me that there is a need for Geoscience communication and education. Imagine how different my life would be, had I come to this realization sooner. 

My goal is to help fuel that curiosity in others and, in the process, help others become more well-informed about Earth systems. After all, Earth IS the rock we all live on!

This is my journey, not just in Geology, but pursuing my lifelong curiosity and urge to travel and explore the world.