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Vickers presented as part of a group project on water filtration systems, a key element of farming in her state. A judge later asked what she wanted to do for a career.

“I pointed to our filtration system and said that I wished I could do ‘that’ for a job,” Vickers responded. “But I figured I’d become a science teacher — the only job I knew about for science lovers like I was.”

The judge explained to Vickers about the various careers in hydrogeology — the study of the distribution, movement and quality of water beneath the earth’s surface. She learned the ����Vloge was one of seven universities in the U.S. to offer an undergraduate degree in hydrogeology. She applied to all seven.

“I was offered a Blugold Fellowship, giving me the chance to begin collaborative research with faculty in my first year, so it was an easy decision to enroll at ����Vlog,” says Vickers, now a junior in the geology department. “I made the right choice.”

Discovering an academic focus through research

Beginning her studies in the geology department was eye-opening in many ways. Vickers says she was advised to explore the list of student research projects, shadow students for a few days and find a project that she would be interested in joining.

“I came in as a hydrogeology major, but through shadowing a senior who was working on a bunch of projects, I discovered hard rock geology, another field I knew nothing about,” Vickers says. “I loved it and ended up taking over one of his projects when he graduated.”

Dr. Robert Lodge, associate professor of geology and environmental science and the faculty mentor for the project Vickers took over