Hi everyone,

I am a current fourth year undergraduate student completing my final course of my program. In May, I will be graduating with my Bachelor of Science degree in Geology, but as this is the final course of my degree, I am currently living and working in Canmore, Alberta. My academic interests lie in structural geology and most of my time is focussed on puzzling together how rocks have been folded, faulted and deformed through mapping in the field, looking at rocks under the microscope, doing geochemistry, and making maps and cross sections. In December, I completed an undergraduate thesis and finished a project on my summer research area in Nahanni National Park on the border of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. I will be continuing to apply similar techniques as I begin my Masters thesis this summer, mapping and studying the structural controls on geothermal systems based out of helicopter-accessed camps in Stewart BC on the border of Alaska.

Beyond my academic interests, I am an avid skier, climber, and artist. I will be spending the winter living and working in the Rocky Mountains and most of my time will be dedicated to backcountry skiing, painting, and designing the graphics and art for ski top sheets for a local ski company. With many wide-ranging interests, I work hard to maintain a balanced lifestyle, and believe strongly in the benefits in interdisciplinary learning. I try to commit this intonation to every level of my life, both academically and personally. An enormous component of my passion for geology is owed to the field-based nature of the science, and the big-picture learning and understanding that is necessary to excel in it. Geology allows me to be outside, and to research, learn, and work in the mountains – an environment that would otherwise be my playground.

I am excited to throw myself into this course and know that the content and communication skills gained will be extremely beneficial both to future professional endeavours and to my upcoming MSc. Thank you for reading!

– Hayley