Jennifer Maloney
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
To Distinguished Members of the National Science Foundation:
I am writing to express my appreciation for your support of the Research Training Program (RTP) at the Smithsonian. As a member of this year's RTP class your donation has altered my life in ways I could have never thought possible.
For starters a little about myself: I am from West Virginia and I am a junior at West Virginia University majoring in Geology. I originally became interested in geology when I was only in the eighth grade. My science class took a field trip to a national park where we examined the layering and sedimentation of the rocks. Since then I've been hooked.
This opportunity to come to the Smithsonian to do research has given direction to my life. Before I came here I had taken only two upper level geology classes and had not done any research. During my ten weeks here I have realized that mineralogical research is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. My project taught me so much that I had never learned in school, partly because I had not had enough classes. Plus, I always learn more and get more out of the experience when I do it first hand.
The Research Training Program has also taught me to think critically, something that I had never been required to do before. It felt good to figure things out on my own, to sit down, and come up with hypotheses and theories on why the minerals are behaving the way that they are.
I had read about pegmatites in my mineralogy class, but didn't really pay any mind to them. Once I got here, I quickly learned how important pegmatites are in our everyday lives, and how interesting they are to research. I also learned of the different and useful minerals that occur only in pegmatites, something that was never covered in any of my classes. The most amazing thing about pegmatites is that every single one is different. When researching pegmatites there always seems to be a surprise waiting around the corner.
Once again, I sincerely thank you for your donation to the RTP program. It has opened my eyes to the wonders that lie in the geology field; wonders that I hope to learn more about and do research on for the rest of my life.
In sincere gratitude,
Jennifer Maloney
Research Training Program, 2003
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