Disclaimer: The structure of this post is going to be slightly different than normal. I, Jessica, will not be writing as an omniscient narrator because such a unique experience warrants a different stylistic approach.
To start off, we went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, IL from 4/17/16 to 4/19/16. The North Central GSA meeting is a regional meeting of geologists of all specialties (researchers, educators, students etc.) and this year was the 50th annual meeting. The group we took included 5 students from the BETA project (Bobbi, Brittnie, Carissa, Katie, and myself), 3 students from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science (Emily, Taylor, and Terra), and Dr. Sedlacek. While the group was a larger group, we all happened to be women as well. This group of entirely lady scientists made for a very unique experience.
I think everyone knew it was going to be a good trip when we had a live concert in the van on the ride there. Bobbi and Terra performed a ukulele version of "Buenos Tardes, Mi Amigo" that was very well received. Later in the ~5 hour drive, all of us started sharing stories.
We were able to have cool conversations about our struggles as women in STEM and society. It was a bonding experience that I am thankful for. -Carissa
Sharing stories of harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender was a very cathartic experience. It was nice being able to talk about that in a van full of people who could relate in some way shape or form from their own experiences. It was a moment in the trip that wasn't expected, but meant a lot to participate in.
We got to the hotel later than anticipated and so we decided to go directly to registration and the reception. Since the hotel and conference were in walking distance we decided to take advantage of the nice weather. About 100 ft from the hotel we were catcalled by some men honking at us in their truck. Bobbi made a comment about scaring them away by talking about climate change and that lightened the mood considerably. After a precarious journey to the conference location (we followed Google maps, but we found a different route back that was much simpler). The reception was met with surprise from a few of us.
I enjoyed the wide range of style from suits and ties to hawaiian shirts. -Carissa
Saw a lot of flannel. -Brittnie
This was not so much a research convention, but more like a gathering of friends. The community of geologists seems very tight-knit and personal, as well as laid back. -Bobbi
The reception was great and there were plenty of booths in which we grabbed some free items along with vendors- I purchased a necklace made of stones from the Banded Iron Formation!
I hit up the table with stickers of the geologic time-scale three times. I don’t even know where to stick them all. I’m too afraid to use them because I like them so much. So I’ll just continue admiring them and imagine myself sticking them on things. -Bobbi
After the reception, it was around 9pm and there was a unanimous consensus that the appetizers at the reception were not enough to qualify as dinner so we went to Steak 'n Shake for a late dinner and left with some fun stories.
There was a gum-ball machine at steak 'n shake that cost 75 [cents] for these massive gumballs. I put in my 75 [cents], got THREE GUMBALLS, AND A QUARTER BACK. It’s not necessarily a funny story… but I just want people to know that I got THREE GUMBALLS for the price of ⅔ of one gumball...so…. That’s pretty fantastic. -Bobbi
After the eventful first day we had, it was time for the meeting to really kick into gear and on Monday BETA presented our poster in the afternoon session. During the morning we all went to talks that interested us.
I saw a really interesting talk about the unusual fossil preservation of a species of cnidaria - it preserved well in large-grained siliciclastic rocks rather than carbonates, due to its environment and the amount of energy in the environment at the time it fossilized. It was really cool because it wasn’t what you would generally expect when it comes to the process of fossilization. -Katie
After the morning sessions, there was a mentor luncheon. This was beneficial for all of us, but specifically for the Earth and Environmental Science majors in the group.
It taught me a lot about finding jobs in my field, and how to go about meeting people in the earth sciences. It really opened my eyes to what the geologic community is like. -Bobbi
As an earth science major, going to GSA was really beneficial for me. I learned about all the different paths that people who study geology are taking, including environmental consulting, research, and industry. Along this line, I was able to make connections with professionals who provided valuable insight into getting a job in this field. -Katie
Bobbi and Carissa goofing around before the poster session
After the lunch were a few talks, but then it was time for the poster session. Each of us found the experience rewarding, but often in different ways from how it was received to networking and everything in between.
I really enjoyed the poster presentation. I had never been to a research conference before, so I was a little nervous to be at our poster and answer questions. But nervousness aside, I really enjoyed this part. I had a lot of fun explaining to people the research that we do once I got the hang of it. -Carissa
Wish we had more data from our research, since a lot of people were hoping to know more about our findings. -Brittnie
I need to practice my public speaking! I froze up a few times and had difficulty explaining some parts of the research to those examining the poster. Even though I stumbled to explain the project, many of the listeners were very kind and forgiving. -Bobbi
We received a large amount of positive feedback about the project. A lot of people wanted to see results, but since it's so early in the process we were not able to give them any information. -Jessica
I wanted to highlight the work that we are doing in Iowa, and also to talk to others who have worked more in the area to get some ideas from them. For example, we spoke with Jed Day and Brian Witzke, who have spent many years studying the Devonian rocks in Iowa, and that was both encouraging and illuminating. -Dr. Sedlacek
Our poster was very well received, and a lot of people are interested in seeing where our research goes in the future. -Katie
After a successful poster session, we went to the evening reception and dinner to celebrate before getting some sleep for day 3.
I wish I could have taken the group out to eat at a nicer restaurant at some point. We definitely had a lot to celebrate. -Dr. Sedlacek
Almost everyone attended one specific morning session titled 'Women and Geology: Who Are We, Where Have We Come From and Where are We Going?' which was fascinating and empowering and a session that I wish would have lasted longer.
My favorite lecture was about the first women researchers in Antarctica, and the struggles they had to go through. Even getting to Antarctica was rough, and once they were there, they had to stay 200 miles away from McMurdock base so they wouldn’t “distract the men.” They completed their data collection, despite their natural disadvantages (eye roll), and really opened polar research up for women. -Bobbi
One of the coolest talks in that session was about Ohio State University’s relationship with female researchers going to Antarctica. The process to get the navy to allow females to go there was so tedious it was ridiculous, but hearing about how these female researchers refused to accept the blatant sexism oppressing them was really inspiring. If those women had not succeeded, according to the navy, all women would have been banned from ever going to Antarctica again. -Jessica
It was nice to have a session that highlighted some of the triumphs and challenges that women in the geosciences have faced. One of my graduate student buddies and mentor, Katie Lewendowski, gave a great talk about the role that Ohio State University has played in involving women in Antarctic research. I think a few of our students left that session with aspirations to go down to ‘the ice’ themselves one day. I really hope that they do! -Dr. Sedlacek
Along with the talk from Katie Lewendowski, Beth Johnson provided some preliminary results about the perception of female geoscientists in society. During her talk she mentioned 3 great websites that are all geared towards either promoting women scientists or changing current perceptions of female scientists. I have included the links below.
The group outside of the Cracker Barrel watching the game of checkers
After that insightful session the group hit the road. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch where Terra, Bobbi, and myself were served some suspicious tasting green beans and where Emily and Taylor played a lightning round of checkers at the giant checkerboard outside of the Cracker Barrel. After many hours in the car on the ride back we ended the trip by listening to an hour of Girl Talk which was thoroughly entertaining to say the least.
This was such a unique experience and myself along with the other women in the group benefited greatly from the meeting and the trip associated with it. In the future, I hope BETA can continue to provide these opportunities for women scientists working on the project. No matter what demographic the group setting is, the North Central GSA meeting is a great place to network, learn (so much), and get practice in presenting research to a great group of scientists.