When Niya Davis was in the fourth grade, she traveled to the NASA Space Center in Houston for a field trip. That day, she fell in love with geology.
杏吧专区淚 remember it like it was yesterday,杏吧专区 Niya recalled. 杏吧专区淚 saw all these minerals, and I was like, 杏吧专区業杏吧专区檓 gonna be a petrologist.杏吧专区"
"I杏吧专区檝e always had a curiosity about the earth and how it was formed and why it looks the way it looks.杏吧专区
When she graduated high school, Niya杏吧专区檚 lifelong love of UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 and the School of Geosciences杏吧专区 geology program drew her here.
Niya uses one word to describe her experience as a geology major: 杏吧专区渉ands-on.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚 feel like you cannot learn geology if it杏吧专区檚 not hands-on. There are a lot of labs in geology, and as you get into minerology and petrology, you get to hold the minerals and learn how to identify them,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 so hands-on that it makes sense 杏吧专区 you杏吧专区檙e not only looking at the name of the mineral but then also seeing what it looks like in person. Once you see it in person, it sticks!杏吧专区
Learning in the Mountains
Through the , Niya traveled with other geology majors to national parks across Wyoming, Montana, and Utah for six weeks 杏吧专区 an experience she said was transformative.
杏吧专区淏eing able to understand how a fault forms and getting out of the textbook and seeing that coming to life was awesome,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淎ctually being able to touch it and break pieces of rock off 杏吧专区 and being able to identify and explain and actually make sense of what you learned was so cool.
杏吧专区淚 was overwhelmed with joy. Standing on top of a mountain and realizing how big this world and earth is and how complex it is 杏吧专区 it杏吧专区檚 not something that everyone understands,杏吧专区 Niya said.
杏吧专区淎nd you have to be ok with not knowing everything 杏吧专区 it杏吧专区檚 a constant discovery.杏吧专区
Finding Connections on Campus
Back on campus, Niya has immersed herself in student activities. She杏吧专区檚 in the , an assistant pastor for , and a member of the .
She杏吧专区檚 also a student worker in , where she works with rare books and geological maps and organizes collections of Louisiana postcards. These projects make her feel more connected to the 杏吧专区 and the community.
杏吧专区淚 fell more in love with the community and the campus itself,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭o be able to see the families who donate their stuff 杏吧专区 it杏吧专区檚 generations and generations of pedigree charts. You literally get to look at family trees. You can see journals and diaries people bring, family photographs. To hear people talk about it and watch the development of it 杏吧专区 you should have seen some of those pictures!杏吧专区
Being involved on campus has taught Niya how to be a better student and a better person.
杏吧专区淚t helps me with communication, organization, time management. I value community, so I value spending time with people, so I have to learn how to manage spending time with people and getting all my homework done,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚 like to make friends and let somebody know they杏吧专区檙e there for them. I really value community and fellowship. You just can杏吧专区檛 do it by yourself.杏吧专区
