Abby Watson knew she wanted to study geology at UL Lafayette after she visited Hamilton Hall on campus.
杏吧专区淚 saw all the cases of minerals around the building, and I was like, 杏吧专区極h my God, I get to learn all of this,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 she said. 杏吧专区淚 was drawn to looking at all the beautiful minerals they have on display, and was like, 杏吧专区極ne day I will know exactly what that is杏吧专区 杏吧专区 and I do now, which is really awesome.杏吧专区
Getting hands-on experience in geology
As a geology major, Abby gets hands-on experiences in her classes, thanks to partnerships and experiences that take her into the field.
Researching at the Geology Museum
Through the School of Geosciences, Abby volunteers once a week with her classmates at the , which is inside the Lafayette Science Museum in downtown Lafayette. She learned about the opportunity from her advisor.
As a volunteer, she looks for fossils in the Geology Museum杏吧专区檚 lab under the direction of Dr. James Martin.
杏吧专区淲hatever we find, we show Dr. Martin, and he杏吧专区檚 like, 杏吧专区楾his is the jawbone of this kind of fish,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 Abby said. 杏吧专区淎nd I杏吧专区檓 just shocked, because this is a million-year-old fossil 杏吧专区 how do you know that? He杏吧专区檚 a genius.
"It gets you experience and gets you involved.杏吧专区
Traveling across the U.S. for Field Camp
All geology majors at UL Lafayette are required to take the over one summer 杏吧专区 an experience Abby is really looking forward to.
杏吧专区淚t's six weeks of road tripping around the country, setting up a tent and looking at rock formations,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 so excited, especially since I杏吧专区檓 going to do it with that same group of people I杏吧专区檝e been with through the program.杏吧专区
Finding opportunities to get involved
Abby found the best way to get the most out of her education at UL Lafayette was to become involved, starting with before her first semester.
杏吧专区淪OUL Camp is the perfect way for any freshman, especially anyone nervous about starting college, to get acquainted with the 杏吧专区,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淵ou meet so many people, so you start off with friends instead of starting college alone. It was a really fun camp, and I really enjoyed meeting all those different people.杏吧专区
Taking that first step to get involved has led to other opportunities for Abby outside her major, too. She does community service every year with and has been a member of .
杏吧专区淏eing in a choir really helps with public speaking and public confidence,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淥ther than that, I really love to sing, and everyone is so talented. To look back at a performance and realize I did that, even though it杏吧专区檚 not my major and it was a really hard piece 杏吧专区 it杏吧专区檚 really rewarding.杏吧专区
A close-knit campus
Abby杏吧专区檚 favorite part about UL Lafayette, though, has been the friends she杏吧专区檚 made through the geology major and in other groups on campus.
Living on campus her first year let her meet more people and experience more of the 杏吧专区 than she expected.
She loved living on a campus with beautiful oak trees and plants 杏吧专区 plus, 杏吧专区淣othing is more than 20 minutes away. It杏吧专区檚 the perfect size for a university to be.杏吧专区
And living on campus helped her make friends more easily.
杏吧专区淥ne of the best parts about living on campus was that I met my roommate and suitemates, and they杏吧专区檙e really the best,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淲e got along so well that I still see them all the time now.杏吧专区
She杏吧专区檚 also become close with her classmates and professors in the geology program.
杏吧专区淚 do feel like I杏吧专区檓 getting a more personal education here, especially in the geology program,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 have classes with the same people and our professors know us all personally by name 杏吧专区 and even know our family members now. I really feel at home with them because I get to see them over and over again, I know how they teach, I know who they are, and I know their personalities.杏吧专区
