NOVEMber 2008 issue
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Student Column
Mixer Draws Out Tales of Summer Work and Fun
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BY SEAN CONTENTI, |
Editor’s Note: Sean Contenti is in his fifth year at the U of A, but is in his fourth year in a specialization-in-geophysics degree. Laurence Jayawardane is in her fourth year of honours geology and plans to pursue a career in oil and gas. Nadia Bruemmer is a fourth-year geology student, with an emphasis in hard rock geology. All three are student members of APEGGA, under the APEGGA Student Advantage Program.
Between faculty and students, our summer adventures were diverse: office jobs in Calgary, logging core and mapping up North, helicopter down falls, completion of research projects, and even some international work. All these were all among the stories told at our September welcoming mixer.
We had a great turnout — professors, teacher assistants and undergrads. Attendance reached 50 or more people, so we certainly had the kitchen and serving staff running at full tilt. That made for a more leisurely pace on our end, and we made do by filling the gaps with conversation and catching up. The event extended into the evening.
The event was so successful we’re now meeting weekly — Fridays at Dewey’s on campus — so profs, grad students and undergrads get to mingle after labs and before heading out for the weekend.
Pancakes and Football
Some of our graduate students organized a trip to a football game, Edmonton versus Winnipeg on a Saturday in early October. The morning started with the grad students making and serving tons of pancakes of all varieties to the many students who attended.
The event continued through the day as about 40 geos made their way via the LRT (our tuition now includes a transit pass) to the game. Happily, all the students got to sit in the same section and cheer on the Eskimos as they dominated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. With warm and mostly sunny weather (rain arrived later in the game), it was a great day.
Fundraisers Planned
The Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Graduation Committee has started to meet regularly and has already planned a few fundraisers for the coming months. In early October, the committee put together a geology outing to a bar in Edmonton that provides societies with funding opportunities. The grad committee raised money directly from people who purchased the tickets, and then got additional dollars from the bar for those tickets redeemed at the door.
The following week, students were out in Quad (a central location on campus with lots of student body traffic), selling hamburgers, veggie burgers and hot dogs to hungry U of A students walking by. The barbecues were a success and on the first day, the committee sold out just as volunteers were about to close shop.
The second day of barbequing was slightly slower, as high winds continually blew out the flame. But we did make a profit, so all in all we’re making progress in decreasing the ticket price for the graduation banquet.
For a future fundraiser, the EAS Graduation Committee is looking into organizing a casino night and other events, so stay tuned for more information.
Recruiting Season
For a few weeks in mid-October, P.S. Warren activities were at a lull. Studying for midterms took over all of our spare time. As well, mid-October is prime recruiting season for the summer of 2009 for large oil and gas companies. Students, especially third-years, had to learn to write professional resumés and cover letters, attend various information sessions, and deal with online applications.
The contrast between everyday student attire and interviewee attire is a sight to behold. We could pick out suits and other more formal garb in labs and classes, amid the backpack-wearing others. It has, however, been a great conversation starter, allowing friends and classmates to support each other.
This month, the U of A Geophysics Undergrad Society was pleased to help host Rick Lindsay, who gave a talk titled Forgotten Geophysics: a Reminder that First-Order Effects Should Come First. We thank Mr. Lindsay for coming all the way to the frozen north to talk to us, although the day of his visit Edmonton was in the middle of a late-September heat wave, by our standards. We are told that’s about the same as a nice winter day in Houston, where Rick works.
The lecture, through the honorary lecturer program of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, seemed to be aimed at an upper-undergraduate audience, which was great for us students.
Outreach Helpers
Later in October, students were looking forward to P.S. Warren activities resuming. Quite a few of us this year are active in APEGGA’s Outreach Program, through which we get to attend local schools to share our passion for rocks and Earth sciences. We brought about 25 students to APEGGA’s Rock and Fossil Clinic held at the TELUS World of Science — Edmonton.
After all the hours spent cramming for midterms in the library, the interaction with kids and the general public was a nice breath of fresh air.
Even More Activities
Another very important post-midterm event is P.S. Warren’s huge annual Halloween Costume Party. After last year’s success, we decided to hold it at a local bar, the Lower Deck just off of Whyte Avenue. Prizes were awarded for the best and most ridiculous costumes.
A local, up-and-coming band, Acronycal, played at the bar because everyone — even ghouls and goblins — loves live music. At the time of writing, we were looking forward for the U of A EAS community to come together for the event — from undergrads to profs, geophysics students to environmental Earth sciences students.
We’re also looking forward to the annual geology Christmas Party in late November. ATLAS — which is the graduate student society of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — and P.S. Warren have been planning this event together. This will be a formal evening, and we are all excited about mingling in a nice hotel downtown.
More Info
P.S. Warren
www.eas.ualberta.ca/pswarren
(brand-new website)
psw@ualberta.ca.
UAGUS
www.ualberta.ca/~uagus
uagus@ualberta.ca.
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