Confessions of a Female Geologist

Hi! I am a B.Sc. Earth Sciences co-op student at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, blogging about life as a female geologist. I have worked for the OGS and currently work on a project for IAMGOLD (formerly Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc.). I am a S-IMEW 2012 alumnus. Feel free to message me any questions that you have!

[rockcollection]

What is one characteristic that means you are meant to be a geologist? Being able to nap on any surface. We've all indulged in a few minutes of relaxation during a break, whether working in the field, on a field trip for a geology course, or simply out exploring. I've curled up on a pile of Devonian fossils in an old quarry in the rain. I've closed my eyes in a grassy field, waiting for a monitoring well to recharge, and woken up with spiders in my hair. I can’t really say that pillows and bedding are as comfortable in the field as they are at home (get it?!), but they've been more than enough to relax on when the time is right. All things considered, have you ever laid down on a bed of moss/lichen?! That stuff is the best! Here’s a picture of me on a lunch break in Gogama, Ontario (on some of the softest moss ever).

[rockcollection]

Another glimpse into the wonderful world of S-IMEW (from the 2012 trip), which gave me two of the best weeks of my life.

[rockcollection]

A flashblack to S-IMEW 2012 from The PDAC's Vimeo, in which myself and a number of friends/colleagues are interviewed.

[rockcollection]

Check it out for an inside look at S-IMEW 2012 including a quote from yours truly!

[rockcollection]

Absentee

Keeping a blog is a large commitment. Perhaps larger than I could have foreseen. I have a whole list of blog posts that I have the intention of writing. I think that once I get back to school, my mind will be back in the shape to update the blog regularly. For now, I'm not going to stress myself out about it. I will spend the rest of the time leading up to school to focus on soaking up the rest of life in Gogama as an exploration geologist. 

In parting, I will suggest that you tune in to the Discovery Channel tonight at 7:00 ET to see Brock University's very awesome and incredibly accomplished Mariek Schmidt in a documentary about Curiosity entitled Mars Landing 2012: The New Search for Life.

[rockcollection]

S-IMEW 2012: Day 1

The adventure that is the Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop has finally begun! After months of anticipation, I arrived at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario to meet with the S-IMEW group and get settled into our residence. We had a fun and relaxed night of beer-drinking and pizza-eating, were lucky enough to sleep in this morning, and experienced the first day of the workshop. We had the pleasure of receiving presentations from many industry professionals, all of whom offered important information and insight into the geosciences industry. Soon we will make our way over to Dynamic Earth for the welcome reception. It will be a great opportunity to network as well as continue to get to know my colleagues who I will be spending the next two weeks with. I am so lucky to be a part of this extremely friendly and fun group of young geologists. 

More updates will come as the adventure continues!

[rockcollection]

PDAC 2012

Time flies! It has been almost a month since the PDAC 2012 Conference in Toronto. I headed to the conference from exploration camp and met up with my friends from Brock University.

We stayed at the HI Hostel on Church Street. If you ever need to stay in Toronto, I definitely recommend this hostel! The staff were friendly and helpful, the building was a fun place to be with an ideal location, and most importantly it was very clean! 

Day 1: On Sunday, I had my Mobi Master volunteer orientation at the Convention Centre. I spent some time with my school friends and then made my way over to the Steamwhistle Brewery for food and drinks. I had the pleasure of seeing most of my old colleagues from the Ontario Geological Survey. It was great to catch up with them and hear about where their lives have taken them since we worked together last summer. After this, I spent some time networking at the Royal York.

Day 2: Monday was the day of my two volunteer shifts at the conference. I was in a red Mobi Master volunteer shirt from the hours of 10:00am-6:00pm, smart phone in hand and a smile on my face. This was the first year that there has been a smart phone app with the full conference guide. It was a very impressive app that was easy to navigate and infinitely helpful. I headed over to the Intercontinental Hotel with my brother as my wingman for my company's suite party. It was great to meet up with some of my Trelawney co-workers outside of camp. I barely recognised some of them, all dressed up in suits rather than sweat pants and plaid shirts covered in dirt. 

Day 3: Tuesday was my big day! I went to the Student-Industry Networking Luncheon and caught up with people that I knew as well as met new people. I finally got to meet the student liaison for PDAC who I have been in touch with about S-IMEW. After this lunch was the Women in Mining reception. Once this was over, I made my way up to the 18th floor of the York for the S-IMEW Alumni reception. This was one of my favourite events of the conference. I got to meet all of the students that I'll be participating in S-IMEW with this May. I'm so excited for the field trip, it seems like a great group of people. I also got to catch up with friends who had already done the workshop, and ask other past participants questions. After this, I had a great time at the MinePros suite party and finished the night off at the the big party in the Canadian room. 

I sure was happy to sleep in on Wednesday and hop on a plane back to camp. I had an unforgettable time at my second PDAC Conference, but 3 days was just enough. 

Why go to the PDAC Conference?

If you have a chance to go to this conference, GO!!! I have had some of the best times there. It is a whirlwind of fun and exciting events that offer more personal and professional development than I can begin to describe. The networking possibilities are endless. You meet people from all over the world in the mining industry. If you are a student and it is your first time going to the conference, I 100% recommend that you volunteer. It is the perfect way to get you oriented with the conference as well as comfortable speaking with new people. As a bonus, you get into the conference for free and it looks great on a resume!

I will be going to the PDAC Conference as much as possible for the rest of my career as a geologist. 

See you there.

[rockcollection]

#PDAC2012

I am taking some time off from core logging to attend the 2012 PDAC Convention in Toronto. I am beyond excited to catch up with classmates and colleagues, as well as to network as much as possible. I will be in a red Mobi Master volunteer shirt all day tomorrow. If you're at the convention and have any questions, the volunteers in the yellow and the red shirts are there for your every need! Tuesday is going to be an exciting day. I will be attending the Student-Industry Networking Luncheon, the Women in Mining Reception, and the S-IMEW Alumni Reception. More blog updates will follow.

[rockcollection]

PDAC posted the 2012 S-IMEW participants. I'm so excited!

[rockcollection]

I have had to brush off some crass comments from some male co-workers in regards to not being quite strong enough to move all of my core boxes. I am a rather skinny girl who has always wanted better upper body strength - especially with a career in geology ahead of me. Let me point out that those core boxes average 60lbs each (more than half of my body weight). If you have a box of all diabase (which rules because you don't have to log it by meterages), add another 10lbs.

By all means, if something a co-worker says genuinely bothers you, the best practice in this industry is to say something. Get it off of your chest (in the most diplomatic way possible, of course). You are going to be working AND living with these people every day, all day, so it is important that you get along with and respect each other. In our core shack, however, it is all fun and games so far, so all I do is laugh it off and try to fire back a relatively witty remark (something along the lines of being the brains rather than the brawn of the operation, blah blah blah). Did I want to be able to move my own core? You know it! I found with a little bit of working out and a lot of determination, it wasn't long before I was completely independent at work. Yeah, I'm taking it a little slow (the last thing I want is to drop a core box - worst jigsaw puzzle ever), but this is just the beginning. 

LADIES! You can do it. WE can do it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want to achieve something, you can. Then you get to prove wrong those who doubted you. Let's be real - that feels amazing, doesn't it?

[rockcollection]

Hwy 144 north

[rockcollection]

Things I've Learned from Being "One of the Dudes"

1. The louder you are while watching sports, the better.

2. The more random facts you recite and players' last names you drop while watching sports, the better.

3. Beer is awesome because it makes you burp loud.

4. Burping loud is awesome.

5. When girls burp loud, it's hilarious.

6. Oh yeah... she's a girl! All the burping made me forget that.

7. I didn't really forget she was a girl. I was staring at her boobs a few seconds ago...

8. Trish Stratus is hot!

9. While hockey is awesome, football is almost more awesome because there is much more hitting involved. 

10. Just kidding, hockey is the best.

12. No matter how stupid commercials can be, almost all of them are hilarious.

13. Even if you don't understand the commercial, laughing anyways usually works.

14. Dick jokes. Always funny. All the time.

15. It's okay to scratch your crotch in front of people.

16. Boys are generally hilarious in groups.

[rockcollection]

Sunrise at camp - working at 7:00 on a Saturday morning. (What day it is doesn’t really matter out here.)

[rockcollection]

"5 geologists, 7 different opinions, 1 outcrop"

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/35padz/

[Created meme on quickmeme.com]

[rockcollection]

Hello from exploration camp.

“Hey baby can I drill you for a core sample?”

If you’ve heard this line, you, like me, are someone who is in a rather unique position. As a female geologist you will have high mountains to climb and wide rivers to cross (excuse the puns). Let me tell you - it is worth every scratch, every fall, every bug bite and poison ivy rash, every frost bite and sun burn, and certainly every oh-so-witty remark from your male colleagues along the way. What an exciting life we have! The average person’s work day doesn’t start with jumping into a helicopter and seeing some of the most beautiful sights Mother Nature has to offer.

Here, at the relative beginning of my career in geology, I set forth on a fantastic journey that I will attempt to parallel through the blogosphere. Whether it is a story of times that are challenging, hilarious, scary, or interesting, I hope to offer a unique view into a currently male-dominated workforce with an ever-expanding future (in a human’s concept of time, anyways).

Cheers.

[rockcollection]

Marcela Marcela