Hey Y’all
My name is Heidi and I am excited that you stopped by my corner of the geology world.
My website is a space designated for exploring. I hope you’ll join me on this journey. Here, you’ll find everything from new geodynamic models to inclusion/diversity topics to teaching topics. If it has something to do with geology, I’m your girl!
Fun Facts
I’m 23 years old, and living in East Lansing, MI. I live in a small apartment with my black cat Bruce within biking distance of Michigan State University. I love to bike around town on a nice day.
My favorite recent trip was to Bay of Fundy. I loved how earth science is part of this area’s storytelling and culture. Our tour guide there told us how we could find “wishing rocks” in the area, which are rocks with a quartz ring around them. If you find one, make a wish, and keep the rock until your wish comes true. Then you pass your wishing rock on to someone else! I am most happy on active, educational vacations. I love seeing lots of places and doing lots of different things. I’m friendly, energetic and driven. I see myself as a leader through change. I eat more Kinder Joy eggs than I care to admit, to which I treat myself every time I’m at the grocery store. I love the little toys inside! Some of my favorite things include: coding and figuring out problems, dressing up, clothes shopping, spending time with friends, FaceTime, reading web comics, doing jigsaw puzzles with Bruce (he steals the pieces), and musical theatre. Bruce brings joy into my life every day. Let’s talk about him!
Bruce
Bruce is an angsty black cat I rescued from the local Humane Society in the fall of 2021. He was 3 years old when I adopted him. When coming home from the Humane Society, he clawed his way out of the cardboard box they provided and angrily shoved his head through the hole. This reminded me of Bruce Banner Hulk mode — pure rage and power. And thus he got his name. Bruce, protects my apartment from the evil birds, purrs next to my head while I sleep, and keeps me company while I cook. He makes my life exponentially better in every way.
Oh, and jigsaw puzzles are our favorite thing to do together! I enjoy coming home, putting the rest of the world out of mind, and watching the pictures of the puzzles emerge. After working on the computer all day, I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with my hands and producing something tangible. Bruce is always there right by my side every time I sit down to puzzle. He reminds me to take breaks by sitting on the pieces, and often destroys the work I’ve done. By the time I’ve finished, I have probably put the puzzle together twice because I have to redo what he has destroyed!
Minnesota is cold
I grew up in Minnesota in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. Home of the Mall of America. I am grateful for my Minnesota accent. I love my accent so much and I hope to never lose it – “Oh, yah, sure, you betcha!” is my reality “don’t ya know”. Since Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, being around water was one of my favorite pastimes. Canoeing, paddle boarding, swimming, agate hunting. Anything with lakes, I love it.
My childhood was full of vacations and learning. In fact, my earliest memories are doing math sheets while camping. That’s literally what my childhood was – vacation, learning, vacation, learning. Even learning on vacation. My parents always encouraged us to be well rounded and try many things. Whether it was synchronized swimming, participating in the school theatre program, or competing as an all-female science bowl team. In high school, I loved being the last to leave the building when theater practice was over. Knowing I would be one of the first to arrive again for “early-bird” classes the next morning.
My Love of Geology
My passion for geology started on a family vacation to San Diego, CA. I was about 11 years old and we were touring the natural history museum in the area. We were walking along the fourth floor and my dad was explaining fault lines while we were looking at pictures of shifted orange groves and fences. All of a sudden, the floor started moving like someone was running on an upper level of a mall floor. We all just looked around at each other very confused. We then looked out the huge windows at the front of the museum and saw everyone running outside. Being from a non-earthquake place we just kind of froze. Once the shaking stopped we went to the information desk and learned there had been a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Back at home, a few months later, we started our plate tectonics unit in Earth Science and I jumped at the chance to have my project be on this Earthquake (2010 Baja California Earthquake). Everything I learned in my Earth Science class fascinated me and led me to make a color-coded journal based on the entire class. So when it was time for me to choose a major in college, geology was the obvious choice and I have never second-guessed it since.
Why I Blog
Growing up I remember watching videos of scientists doing demonstrations in an easy to understand format. The lessons I learned from them have stayed with me throughout my life. As a scientist, I want to show people the fun and interesting questions geologists are asking today. My goal here is to provide easy to digest information about geodynamic modeling and some of the current sciences being produced in the geological community.
Throughout my life I have been driven to improve the world around me. I strive to communicate my knowledge in an accessible way. I am excited to inspire the next generation of scientists and ask new questions with my fellow scientists. As I begin my journey into the academic world, I find purpose in advocating for diversity and inclusion as a way to create a more collaborative and welcoming scientific community for the future.
