Geologic Adventures
Sally Belasco '16 (center) investigates an aggregate quarry along with classmates Megan Layman and David Bertram. The field trip was part of a class on sedimentology and straitgraphy, led by Joseph Priestley Professor of Natural Philosophy Marcus Key (not pictured). Photo courtesy of Belasco.
Sally Belasco ’16
Track and field captain and earth sciences major Sally Belasco ’16 once thought she’d enter the Secret Service, like her parents, or work as an athletics trainer. But once she got to Dickinson, she caught the earth sciences bug and, after hiking up to a Costa Rican volcano and swimming in its crater lake, she’s never looked back. She discusses the faculty members who inspired her to choose her current field of study, her earth sciences trips to Costa Rica and Alaska and more.
Major:
Clubs and organizations:
Geo Club and track and field (captain).
Favorite book:
The Game of Thrones series.
Favorite movie:
Pretty Woman.
As a kid, I wanted to be …
… an agent in the Secret Service. Both of my parents were in the Secret Service, and my dad still is. They have some of the coolest stories.
On choosing a major:
I originally wanted to become an athletics trainer, and Dickinson was actually the only school I applied to that didn’t have a kinesiology or athletic training major. I’m glad I went here, though, because otherwise I never would have taken Energy Resources with [Joseph Priestley Professor of Natural Philosophy] Marcus Key. That was the class that made me want to be an earth sciences major. All of the professors in the earth sciences department really care about their students, and they want them to be successful while having fun. The opportunity to travel and work outside a lot of the time is also a bonus!
Favorite place on campus:
The Kline Athletic Center.
Favorite Dining Hall food:
Grilled cheese.
Most important thing I’ve learned so far:
Time management makes life so much easier. Learning how to cook yummy, healthy food also makes life so much easier.
Post-Dickinson plans:
I currently have no plans set in stone, but I do hope to get a geology-related job (be it in a lab, in the field or teaching) somewhere in or close to Pennsylvania.
On conducting field research:
I have been on two weeklong trips with the earth sciences department. The first trip was to Costa Rica, where I studied volcanoes and plate tectonic interactions. I got to know some of my closest friends during this trip, and I got to hike up a volcano and swim in its crater lake! The second trip was to Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska. I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, so this trip was really a dream come true. It’s hard to describe how immense the landscape is there. It was easily the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.
About my experiences in teaching:
After giving some serious thought to what I might want to do when I “grow up,” I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. Some of the people I've idolized are my high school teachers, and I think it would be amazing if I could have the kind of impact on kids that they've had on me. Last semester, I observed four geo-environmental teachers at Carlisle High School, and this semester, I am planning and teaching a unit on minerals and igneous rocks.
I learned that teaching is hard and takes lots of creativity! Most people take teachers for granted and don’t realize how much work they have to put in outside of class. Planning just one class takes hours. Each student needs to be taken into consideration when planning a class, which also means that teachers need to get to know their students and form connections with them. Right now, I only have one class of 19 students. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to teach six classes at a time. I applaud teachers everywhere for the amount of effort they put in to planning classes and the level of enthusiasm they show nearly every day for teaching.
Biggest influence:
My sister. She isn’t the typical role model, and we don’t always get along, but she has managed to accidentally teach me lots of valuable things. The most important lesson I picked up from her was that confidence is one of the most noteworthy qualities you can have. If you aren’t confident, no one will ever know what you can do or how great you really are.
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Published May 18, 2016